water

The movie deals with, the widows of Benaras and their oppression, in the late 1930s. The whole setting is wonderfully reconstructed, though I didn't really figure out what Water had to do with it.
It no doubt had a commanding screen presence and makes an appearance in many scenes. It probably also symbolises, the Hindu religion, that although expansive and well-defined in its flow, can be skillfully shaped up, to the needs of those who read the scriptures - the Brahmins.
It might represent the time-frame of a widow's life from the instant, her husband's ashes meet the waters till the time she (or her ashes) drown themselves.
It could stand for innumerous tears that are suppressed.
Or it could be something different altogether.

Unlike, Dor where, the widow did love her husband & missed him, Water speaks of girls, not even in their teens, widowed before they met their husbands, for whom they could have no possible affection. Also, while we feel sad for Meera, what happens to the playful Chuhiya, only about 7 yrs. old, is graphicaly brutal. The setting of the ashram, with the same grief multiplied in each inmate, is gripping. We learn, during the course of the movie, that Manu allows, a widow only 3 forms of life. A Sati (death in the pyre of her husband), or a life devoid of earthly pleasures, or (subject to consent of the family) a marriage to the younger brother of the dead husband. While it seemingly, subjects the widow to the mercy of others, it also ensures that she is not left uncared for. In a male-hounding society, it gave the widow a slight immunity against being subject to humiliation.as per Hinduism, there is no action that ever goes unaccounted for. Each action has to be redeemed and its fruits (bitter or sweet) to be consumed. Hence, in light of such atrocities, the overwhelming anti-brahminical sentiments that are running amok all over the country start to appear.