Ira Trivedi is an Indian author, columnist, and yoga teacher. She belongs to a family of bureaucrats. Her father, uncle, and aunty, all are bureaucrats. Her grandmother, Kranti Trivedi, was a Hindi language writer who won many awards and accolades. Ira Trivedi published her first book at 19 with Penguin Publishers. Till now she has published around 9 books. She also runs a non-profit organisation, The Namami Yoga Foundation. For her writings, yoga teaching, and not-for-profit works she got a place in BBC’s 100 most influential women in 2017.
Wiki/Biography
Ira Trivedi was born on Saturday, 1 December 1984 (age 38 years; as of 2023) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Her zodiac sign is Sagittarius. After completing her schooling Trivedi pursued a Bachelor’s in Economics from 2002 to 2006 at Wellesley College, Massachusetts. She pursued an MBA at Columbia University from 2006 to 2008. Later, she pursued a Master’s in Yoga and received a Yoga Acharya degree from Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 8″
Weight (approx.): 55 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Ira was born into a Brahmin family. Her grandmother Kranti Devi was also a famous Hindi writer who wrote 50+ books. Kranti Devi was the daughter of Pt. Ravi Shankar Shukla, the first Premier of the Central Province of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, British India and then CM of the state of Madhya Pradesh.
First CM of Madhya Pradesh Ravi Shankar Shukla
Kranti Trivedi (in middle) presenting her book to PM Jawaharlal Nehru
Parents & Siblings
Ira’s father, Vishwapati Trivedi, is an IAS officer of the 1977 batch from the Madhya Pradesh cadre. Her mother’s name is Mona. Ira has 3 siblings, 2 sisters, Anjani and Ishani, and a brother, Anant Vijay. Ira’s uncle Prajapati Trivedi is also an IAS officer.
Ira Trivedi with her parents
Ira Trivedi with her siblings
Relationships/Affairs
Ira is in a relationship with Madhu Mantena, producer of big hit films such as Ghajini, Masaan, Queen and Udta Punjab. They are in a relationship for many years and going to marry on June 9 2023 in ISKCON Temple, Juhu, Mumbai.
Ira Trivedi with Madhu Mantena
Religion/Religious Views
Ira belongs to a Brahmin family and follows Hinduism.
Address
Raghunath Bhawan, 7, Spring Lane, (via Green Avenue) Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070
Career
Writer
Ira’s debut novel came when she was 19. It was ‘What Would You Do To Save the World’ published by Penguin India in 2006. She then wrote several fiction and non-fiction books. Some of them are, The Great Indian Love Story (2009), There’s No Love On Wall Street (2011), and Nikhil and Riya (2017). She co-authored the book, ‘The Desi Guide To Dating’ with Sachin Bhatia. Her last book, Om The Yoga Doga was published in 2020. This book is for children to guide them in Yoga.
Ira Trivedi at the launch of her book, Nikhil and Riya, in Bangalore
Yoga Teacher
Ira is Acharya in Yoga. She teaches Yoga around the world through her Yoga Retreat Programmes. She founded Yog Love, an online Yoga studio during COVID-19. The motive behind this was to keep people healthy during the pandemic period. She founded Namami Yoga, a foundation that teaches Yoga and life skills to impoverished children.
Logo of Yog Love
Ira Trivedi, Yoga instructor
Journalist
Ira worked as a journalist in foreign affairs and foreign policy. She worked for the New York Times, The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle, The Telegraph, the Times of India, and Outlook. She is also a blogger and pens down notes related to gender, women, youth, and Yoga.
Controversies
#metoo allegation on Chetan Bhagat and Suhel Seth
In 2018, when the #metoo movement was at its peak she revealed to Outlook magazine that Chetan Bhagat and Suhel Seth harassed her physically on several occasions.
Religious Remarks
In 2019, Ira got in the headlines when she made a remark about beef, she said,
Beef is the ‘cheapest source of protein’. Beef is an important source of protein for the malnourished and the ban on beef would be unfair, especially to the Muslim community.”
Later, netizens found her old tweets where she said,
The Quran is a deeply progressive text! Modern-day Hinduism is deeply regressive.”
Following this Doordarshan stopped the re-telecast of her yoga show.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- New India Express Devi Award For Dynamism and Innovation in 2015
- UK Media Award for the best investigative article dealing with bride trafficking in India in 2015
- BBC’s 100 most influential women in the World (2017)
Ira Trivedi in BBC’s 100 most influential women list
Favourites
Ira Trivedi with the actor Dominic West
Facts/Trivia
- Ira Trivedi loves animals, especially dogs.
- She was part of the team that led the first international day of Yoga at Rajpath New Delhi where two Guinness World Records were created- for the largest yoga lesson and for the most nationalities in a yoga lesson.
Ira Trivedi with a certificate of Guinness Book World Record
- She had two Yoga shows on TV. One was on Doordarshan (60 episodes) and another one was on India Today.
- Ira’s father was a former chairman of Indian Airlines.