SWEET 16 RUDRITARA SHROFF

HELLO! CATCHES UP WITH THE YOUNG PHILANTHROPIST, SHOWCASING AMBITION BEYOND HER YEARS, AS SHE COLLABORATES WITH WORLD-RENOWNED INDIAN  ARTISTS AND CHRISTIE’S AUCTION HOUSE FOR A NOBLE CAUSE

- JEENA J BILLIMORIA

All of 16, the outgoing and intelligent Rudritara Shroff gears up for Aan engaging conversation with HELLO! after just having completed her exams at the prestigious American School of Bombay (ASB), where she’s currently studying the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme. With a smile, she shares, “I’ve been born, bred and raised in Mumbai.” The youngest daughter of Poonam Bhagat Shroff (of the Nirlon family) and industrialist Jaidev Shroff has been a competitive athlete since the age of six, participating in almost all track and field events, particularly sprints and long jump in school. “I am also an avid skier and recently completed Level 5 (an advanced level) last March. Skiing is really something I look forward to every year!” shares Rudritara.

Inducted into the beautiful world of art since babyhood, Rudritara has now used her appreciation for the craft for a new book, titled Art for Baby, an homage to an already existing tome for babies with the same name. Reaching out to 15 globally renowned Indian artists to contribute — including Reena Kallat, Atul and Anju Dodiya, Gigi Scaria, Manish Nai, Shilpa Gupta, Jyoti and Jyotsna Bhatt, NS Harsha, Amol Patil, Sudarshan Shetty, Bijoy Jain, Shakuntala Kulkarni, Dhruvi Acharya and Jogen Chowdhury — this artistically monochrome book is designed for infants aged zero to three months.

Rudritara tells us how this lovely project came about and her aspirations for the future of infant cognitive development. All proceeds from the project go to charity, supporting children’s welfare through partnerships with UNICEF and Outset UK.