christians will mark clean monday, the beginning of great lent, a period of prayer and fasting before pascha, or easter. for western christians, lent begins later in the week, on ash wednesday, when many will attend services and have ashes placed on their foreheads as a symbol of penance and mortality. >>> that's our program for now. i'm kim lawton. we have much more on our website where you can comment on all of our stories and share them. audio and video podcasts are also available. you can follow us on twitter and facebook, where i have a fan page too. you can also find us on youtube, and watch us anytime, anywhere on smartphones and iphones with our mobile web app. join us at pbs.org. as we leave you, scenes from india as hindus honored lord shiva, their god of destruction and renewal.