Shallu Jindal

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shallu Jindal

• She was born to a Businessman Family in Ludhiana, Punjab.

• Since her childhood, Shallu inclined towards Classical Dance forms of India.

• While studying in Ludhiana, she started taking Kathak classes from a local Kathak trainer.

• Shallu won many prizes in Kathak at school and college level Youth Festivals.

• At the age of 23, she tied the knot with Naveen Jindal in the year 1994. It was an arranged marriage.

• In 2001, she was on a pilgrimage to Tirupati. While waiting outside the temple, she saw the noted Kuchipudi exponent Raja Radha Reddy sitting in a corner of the temple. Shallu had heard a lot about him and had also watched many of his dance performances, in fact, she was in awe of his Kuchipudi dance. She couldn’t resist herself meeting Raja Radha Reddy. She approached him and introduced herself as a great admirer of him. She requested him to train her in Kuchipudi and he agreed to become her mentor.

• At the age of 32, Shallu gave her first Kuchipudi performance at Delhi’s India Habitat Centre.

• Now, she has become a face of Kuchipudi for India and has dedicated her life to promoting Kuchipudi. She practices her art for about 3 hours every day.

• Contrary to Sanskrit and Telugu, Shallu performs Kuchipudi in Hindi and Urdu.

• Besides heading the CSR arm of her husband’s Jindal Steel & Power, she is president of OpenSpace Jindal Foundation.

• Here is a glimpse of Shallu Jindal’s life: