Ritu Vasu Primlani is an Indian stand-up comedian and environmentalist. She received the 2015

Nari Shakti Puraskar The Nari Shakti Puraskar () is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is presented by the presi ...

from the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

for her work.

Personal life

Primlani grew up in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, India. She received a master's degree from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in Geography, Urban Planning and Law. Vasu Primlani receiving the highest Presidential award in India for women

She is also a fitness enthusiasts and has done five half marathons, two Olympic-distance triathlons, a Half Ironman and a sprint triathlon. Currently based out of Delhi, she is also a somatic therapist.

Career

Primlani founded the non-profit ''Thimmakka’s Resources for Environmental Education'' in the United States. This organisation provided environmental consulting services for restaurants and it received the California Governors Environmental and Economic Leadership Award in 2003 and she was appointed an Ashoka Fellow for her work with restaurants. Ms. Primlani's organisation also received a US EPA region 9 award in 2003. In July 2014, Primlani was accused of cheating by Saalumarada Thimmakka, a Bengaluru-based environmentalist, for using her name to solicit money from the United States. According to Thimmakka, Primlani was misusing her name when she set up the Thimmakka's Resources for Environmental Education in the United States. According to Primlani, Thimmakka, a centenarian, "supposedly" merely forgotten that she had given Primlani consent to use her name. Primlani has produced, headlined in, and performed in hundreds of corporate and comedy club shows across the world, including in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, Dubai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Pune, and Delhi. She tackles social messaging through her comedy, giving voice to daring issues such as the environment, human rights, and rape In 2024, she released her first graphic novel, JUTA in New Delhi, India and started working as Knoxville's new sustainability director

Awards

* Nari Shakti Award, 2015, by the

* Global Ashoka Innovators for the Public Social Entrepreneur fellowship 2004 * U.S. EPA Region 9 Environmental Achievement Award 2003 * California Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award 2003

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Primlani, Vasu Indian LGBTQ comedians Indian lesbians Living people Indian stand-up comedians Lesbian comedians Indian humorists Indian women humorists Year of birth missing (living people) Indian women comedians Indian social entrepreneurs 21st-century Indian comedians 21st-century Indian LGBTQ people Nari Shakti Puraskar winners