Sadhvi Ritambhara
A spiritual leader who founded Vatsalya Gram, where orphaned children, women and elders live as families, honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2025.
Sadhvi Ritambhara, widely called Didi Maa, is a spiritual teacher and speaker. In 2025 she was named for the Padma Bhushan in the field of social work, from Uttar Pradesh [1].
Vatsalya Gram
She was born on 1 January 1964 [2]. Her best-known work is Vatsalya Gram in Vrindavan, which combines care for orphaned children, protection for women and care for elderly people in one family-based model [2].
Through her non-profit, the Param Shakti Peeth, similar welfare projects run in Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat [2].
She received the WOW India Woman of the Year award in 2010 for her work against female foeticide [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Sadhvi Ritambhara — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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