Kiran Sehgal

For those who seek purpose in art, life is bound to be an affair in harmony. Danseuse Kiran Sehgal’s life is no exception. Born into a family wedded to performing art, which saw its acme in the world of films, Kiran grew to become a proud harbinger of her parents’ dreams. Brought up amidst music and dance, the celebrated Odissi dancer says she could never really remain unreceptive to the experiences that filled her childhood days. A renowned Odissi dancer and a Padma Shri awardee, Kiran has recently received the Sangeet Natak Academy award by the President of India in Mumbai. Daughter of eminent personality, film actress and legendary dancer Zohra Sehgal, she took her first lessons in dance as a part of Uday Shankar’s contemporary ballet movement. As a child, she acted in some plays of Prithvi Theatre and also toured almost 112 cities as a child artiste. Later, many film offers poured in but her father discouraged her. After imbibing the nuances of Bharatnatyam, Kiran Sehgal went on to learn Odissi, which became her ultimate medium of expression.