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. 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.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Ira Trivedi was born on Saturday, 1 December 1984 (age 38 years; as of 2022) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Her zodiac sign is Sagittarius. She used to play squash in her teens and played in national-level squash competitions. She was also an avid horserider when she was growing up. After completing her schooling, Trivedi pursued a Bachelor of 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 degree 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 belongs to a Brahmin family.
Parents & Siblings
Ira’s father, Vishwapati Trivedi, is an IAS officer of the 1977 batch of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. He was a former chairman of Indian Airlines. Her mother’s name is Mona. Ira has 3 siblings, 2 sisters, Anjani and Ishani, and a brother, Anant Vijay.
Ira Trivedi with her parents
Ira Trivedi with her siblings
Husband & Children
She got married to Madhu Mantena, a popular Indian producer, on 11 June 2023 in Mumbai.
Ira Trivedi with her husband, Madhu Mantena
Other Relatives
Ira’s 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 the PM Jawahar Lal Nehru
Ira’s uncle Prajapati Trivedi is also an IAS officer.
Ira’s uncle, Prajapati Trivedi
Relationships/Affairs
Ira is in a relationship with Madhu Mantena, producer of big hit films such as Ghajini, Masaan, Queen, and Udta Punjab.
Ira Trivedi with Madhu Mantena
Religion
Ira follows Hinduism.
Address
Raghunath Bhawan, 7, Spring Lane, (via Green Avenue) Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070
Career
Writer
Ira’s debut novel, ‘What Would You Do To Save the World,’ came when she was 19; it was 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 the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 has worked as a journalist and covered issues related to foreign affairs and foreign policy. She has worked for The New York Times, The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle, The Telegraph, The Times of India, and Outlook.
Controversies
#MeToo allegation against 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. [1]Outlook
Controversial remarks on various religions
In 2019, Ira hit 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.” [2]DNA India
In another tweet, she wrote,
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
- 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) [3]BBC
Ira Trivedi in BBC’s 100 most influential women list
Favourites
- Actor: Dominic West
Ira Trivedi with 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 loves to travel. According to her, exploring new places gives her a sense of freedom.
- She hosted two Yoga shows on TV. One was on Doordarshan in 2018 (60 episodes) and another one was on India Today in 2021.
- She is a blogger and often pens down notes about gender, women, youth, and Yoga.
