Nari Shakti Puraskar – 2016 for Dr. Nandita Shah

March 8, 2017. The Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan, India’s Presidential Palace, was filled with government officials, awardees and their friends. After a brief speech of Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, the President of India, the honorable Shri Pranab Mukherjee, conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2016 on 33 eminent women, organizations and institutions in recognition of their achievement in promoting positive change and being examples among women. Amongst them was Aurovilian Dr. Nandita Shah who received the award in recognition of her years of dedicated service to spread awareness about food as medicine and her work towards animal rights and the environment. After the ceremony, the awardees were congratulated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for their pioneering achievements, both in their individual capacities and as torch-bearers in their respective fields.

For Nandita, the award is a recognition of the work which she has been doing so passionately and for so long. “Everybody believes that they need medicine to get healed. It is really hard for people to grasp the concept that they can get well without medicine. But medicines have never cured diseases such as diabetes, hypertension or high blood pressure.”

Nandita’s philosophy is that every animal requires food that is natural to its anatomy and physiology, and it’s the same with humans. More than eleven years ago she started SHARAN – Sanctuary for Health and Reconnection to Animals and Nature – which is spreading awareness about holistic health, how to lead an ecologically sustainable and compassionate lifestyle, and how to prevent and reverse lifestyle diseases through food and nutrition.

Through workshops and retreats, she has promoted a natural, organic, healthy and non-violent diet. “I am a medical doctor by profession, but at SHARAN we do not prescribe medicines or expensive supplements, nor recommend surgery that is not essential. We provide simple, scientific information about what to avoid and how to prepare healthy food. Everyone can learn to do this and so become their own doctor and lead a healthier and happier life.”

SHARAN has several ways of communicating its message. The most experiential – and at about Rs 300,000 a person all-in, the most expensive – is a 21-day residential programme in SwaSwara, a five-star resort in Gokarna in south Goa. In this retreat, healthy food patterns are reintroduced and the body is trained to no longer crave the food which is unhealthy. “Our team of doctors and professionals evaluate the medical records of a person before admission, and at the beginning and at the end lab tests are done. During the retreat delicious natural food is served, and the intake of medicines is reduced. People are taught which foods are healthy and which should be avoided, and how to prepare them. The results are 100%,” says Nandita. “We have seen that lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure can be healed by simply changing the food patterns.”

A second outreach of SHARAN is through its one-day seminars, which are conducted all over India. “Not everyone can afford our 21-day programme, either in time or money,” says Nandita. “Our day programmes answer that need. Here we reach very large numbers.” Last but not least there is SHARAN’s website www.sharan-India.org, which provides information and has publications including cooking books for free downloading. Nandita’s book Reversing Diabetes in 21 Days will be published by Penguin and is scheduled for release by the end of the year.

The award, says Nandita, should serve as an impetus for her work. “Our dream is a diabetes-free India, but we are miles from that - even though we have already positively impacted the lives of over 20,000 people in India and abroad. In fact, the rest of the world is turning quicker in that direction than India, which is lagging behind. In the West, vegan and organic food restaurants are easy to find. In India they are still a rarity, even though the incidence of diabetes is on the rise.” However, more institutions and individuals have started doing similar work, some of them trained by Nandita. “There is a website ‘Freedom from Diabetes’, which features the work of one of my trainees,” she says. Nandita plans to invite highly placed Government officials to participate in a seminar. That, she feels, would really have an impact.

“Because my system is not main-stream, it is viewed with a bit of skepticism,” acknowledges Nandita. “And Auroville, sadly, is no exception. For more than nine years in a row, except for the last two years, I have been giving “Peas vs Pills” workshops at the Quiet Healing Centre. But Aurovilians rarely participated - instead, the room was filled by enthusiastic guests.” For the ease of work, SHARAN is not an Auroville unit. “SHARAN engages 35 people and I am the only Aurovilian,” she says. “We have clients from all over India, and I didn’t feel it was right to do this through Auroville.” Nandita’s other activity, Vegan Essence, is an Auroville unit which makes vegan cheeses and other vegan spreads. These are only available at the Auroville food outlets.

Nandita acknowledges that she would never have done what she has done if it were not for Auroville. “I have been coming to Auroville every year since 1985, and joined in 1999. Actually, I was ‘told’ to come. Auroville has a tremendous impact. I wouldn’t have been able to shift my consciousness if I hadn’t come to Auroville and I am forever grateful to Auroville for what I am doing. SHARAN was born from my experience here”.