National yoga champion is now the voice of deprived: Ritu Kataria

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style.“

These words of Maya Angelou fits perfectly to a phenomenal women from Gurugram.

Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary with their efforts and dedication to live their passion. One such real-life hero Mrs. Ritu Kataria is an example to the society as a whole when it comes to bringing an extraordinary change into many lives while being an ordinary woman, a working professional, a wife and a mother of two daughters, with all her personal responsibilities being managed simultaneously.

While talking to Ritu, she has shared one incident of her life which has forced her to work for humanity and society. One day, a student of Ritu wrote a letter which literally made her heart numb. That was the day when Ritu decided to dedicate her life for the girls child’s education and starting working towards prevention of domestic violence. In the letter, the student wrote how she wanted to study and secure her future, but her father didn’t allow her to pursue her dream. The girl’s father instead started beating her and her mother. The young girl has shared with Ritu that she is helpless and if Ritu will help her she will feel blessed and can pursue her dream. After reading the note from the girl, Ritu was in tears and she made my mind very clear that she will give the voice to such people in the society. This moment was the turning point in Ritu’s life.

There is always a story behind a persons turning point in life, something that brings a massive change in the direction of our efforts. And the same was experienced by Ritu. Ritu is heading one NGO as director, which is reflecting her ideology. She has founded “Parivartan- Ek Prayas” along with like minded people with an aim to uplift the underprivileged community and to work for the education of girl child. As a social activist, she has been part of many campaigns on road safety, cleanliness, hygiene and tree plantation drives. Through her initiatives she has delivered multiple sessions on women empowerment, personal hygiene and yoga.

Ritu has further shared her plans and mentioned that she is very keen to work towards women empowerment, skill and talent development in rural village areas of the India. Currently she has engaged local women from village areas in home made pickle production after providing them the proper training. Also, Ritu is planning to run an initiative to raise awareness about fundamental duties in schools and colleges.

Success is a compilation of learning from our failures,  even after two failed attempts she didn’t give up; rather she worked hard and faced her failure with pride. It was the result of her self confidence that Mrs Ritu Kataria has cleared CSIR UGC NET with AIR 24 in December 2017. This is what a real hero does; they never give up. She has made not only her family, but also the whole Gurugram proud by winning the title of Mrs. Haryana 2018 (India) and Mrs Bharat Icon-2019 (1^st runner up). From her childhood, she was a good gymnast and later continued her journey on fitness with brushing up her skills on yoga which has helped her to become the national yoga champion.

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There is no limit to her achievements! however, as it seems so beautiful and praises worthy, it wasn’t that easy. She put sheer determination, lot of efforts and most importantly an attitude of not being knocked off by failures. In her own words – “You are never old to set a goal in your life”.

Mrs Ritu Kataria, is a chemistry lecturer in a government school and lighting up the lives of many girls through education. She is a proud mother of two daughters and winner of the prestigious award “Atal Samriti Samman” and “All India Shaurya Award” for her exemplary work in the field of women empowerment.

Ritu strongly believes that

“One life is enough to be a responsible citizen and earn respect from the world.”