Didi Contractor

Delia Narayan "Didi" Contractor (née Kinzinger; 1929 – July 5, 2021) was an American artist and builder.

She was a recipient of the Nari Shakti Puraskar, India's highest civilian award for recognising the achievements and contributions of women.

[3][7] After separating from her husband she moved to Andretta, an artists’ village established by Norah Richards in the Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh in the 1970s.

She specialised in buildings that fit into, rather than contrast with, the landscape, and are made of natural local materials: mainly mud, bamboo, and stone, with small amounts of deodar wood.

[2] She was the 2017 winner of the Women Artists, Architects and Designers (WADe) Asia Life Time Achievement Award.

President Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Nari Shakti Puruskar to Didi Contractor in 2019