Her green saree found our eyes before she did. As she stepped out of the car with a welcoming, bright smile, the entire mood seemed to shift. The gloomy weather itself seemed to take a backseat as her infectiously sunny presence brought life into the space. Bharatnatyam dancer, yoga instructor, wellness speaker, Sadhguru’s daughter… she goes by many titles, but she answers to one call from strangers and friends alike: “Radhe akka!”
Radhe Jaggi has taken her art to different corners of the world – from New York to Seoul – but to Vizag, she brought stories. Addressing the women of the city at an event by FICCI FLO Vijayawada on 2 July 2025, Radhe stitched the bits and pieces of her life together into a fabric of conversation that blanketed the room, lulled the world outside, and left listeners transfixed for two hours straight. Team Yo Vizag, thankfully, was not spared the honour and we had the opportunity to exchange words with her in the lead-up to the event.
Q; You grew up studying in Rishi Valley Boarding School nearby. Tell us about your childhood.
Radhe Jaggi: I spent my early years spent between the ashram and Rishi Valley School. And I owe most of her growth as a child to the environments that were as open as the school and ashram. The thing I remember about Rishi Valley is the place – the open campus was a huge influence for me. I still have my favourite rock and my favourite tree and all the trees I used to climb and hang upside down on or sit under with a fat book in my hands. I just never felt any pressure to excel or live up to anyone’s expectations. I was always participating in class and always arguing with my teachers, and they encouraged it and they liked it and they enjoyed it.
Credit also goes to Sadhguru. Whenever he would come for parent teacher meetings, he was very clear. Does she eat well? Is she active? Does she play? Does she, you know, she involved in sports? Is she jumping around? Is she okay? Is she happy?
Q: You’ve been dancing since you were nine years old. That’s such a long time. How has your relationship wit your art changed over the years?
Radhe Jaggi: I started learning dance at nine as an extracurricular activity in Rishi Valley. At that age, I didn’t truly understand or value it. I just enjoyed moving and being active. It wasn’t a passion yet. But when I visited Kalakshetra later, I met Leela Samson, and the way she spoke about dance with such clarity and passion completely shifted something in me. I knew then that I wanted to pursue whatever gave her that spark.
Kalakshetra was rigorous and very different from Rishi Valley. The discipline was intense, and it took time for me to adjust. But over time, I understood its value. It gave me strong technical grounding. Looking back, I now understand the value of that rigor. We didn’t just learn dance. We studied temple architecture, literature, poetry… all of which build a strong foundation. After graduation, I continued learning under Leela Samson and later another teacher, which helped me grow as an artist.
Now, when I teach at Sanskriti, I often over-explain because I want students to understand the depth of the journey. It’s hard, but if they stick with it, it’s transformative.
Q: How do dance and spirituality intersect for you?
Radhe Jaggi: For me, the spiritual aspect of dance lies in the totality of presence. When I step onto a stage, I have to give it everything – physically, emotionally, mentally. If I’m not completely present, the performance falls flat. Especially if I’m trying to convey something unfamiliar or deeply layered, I must first be completely convinced by it myself.
You can’t afford to be self-conscious on stage. The moment you are, the connection with the audience is lost. When you perform, everything about you is visible—your thoughts, your emotions, your vulnerabilities. And that kind of raw openness is what makes dance spiritual for me. It’s about being in the moment, completely and unapologetically, and taking the audience on that journey with me.
Q: What was it like growing up as Sadhguru’s daughter?
Radhe Jaggi: There’s a common misconception that I was always seen as Sadhguru’s daughter, or that I grew up in a large, established organization. But in reality, during my childhood, there were only about 10–15 people around us. That was the entire organization. It grew slowly, mostly after the consecration of the Dhyanalinga.
As we travelled around, I was exposed to all kinds of people and homes. We stayed in the wealthiest homes, and we stayed in the most modest farms in the middle of nowhere. I ate with everyone, shared space with everyone. Wherever I went, I was just another child in the group. The people around me were completely involved, and that gave me a strong sense of grounding and inclusivity.
I was never expected to behave in a particular way or speak in a certain tone because of who my father was. Not by him, and not by anyone else around me. I was always seen for who I was. I think I was just very lucky in that way.
The first time I was ever made aware of being “a Swami’s daughter” was when I was in college. I must have said something snarky in response to a question, and someone responded with, “But you’re a Swami’s daughter!” It honestly caught me off guard. That lens had never been applied to me before.
By the time people started projecting expectations onto me, I was old enough to not let it affect me. I wasn’t trying to prove myself to anyone and I had already found comfort in who I was and what I was doing.
Q: Where did your love for sarees begin?
Radhe Jaggi: My relationship with sarees began when I joined Kalakshetra, where the dress code required us to be in dance sarees all the time. When I left for Kalakshetra, a collection of my mother’s old sarees were given to me.
The first time I wore one, I was struck by how comfortable it was. I wondered why I hadn’t worn sarees earlier. I started wearing them regularly from the age of 16, and it helped that people took me more seriously because I looked a bit older.
By the time I was 17 or 18, I became deeply interested in the technical side – how the saree is woven, the kinds of yarns, the styles, the regional differences. I was amazed by the diversity of weaves just within Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh. There’s such a richness and artistry in each piece of fabric.
I also had the good fortune of being surrounded by incredible women in the ashram who wore sarees with such elegance and pride. Over the years, sarees became an extension of my identity.
What draws me to sarees is the craftsmanship. The skill, care, and history. I don’t know if there are fabrics like that anywhere else in the world. How can you not fall in love with it?
Q: Tell us about the Save the Weave movement?
Radhe Jaggi: As for Save the Weave, it was an initiative that Sadhguru started. We showcased it at New York Fashion Week alongside designers like Sabyasachi. The idea was to promote Indian fabrics in their pure form without excessive embellishment, and make a case for sustainable, eco-conscious fashion.
Looking ahead, the aim is to support weaving clusters directly by building a global marketplace. International buyers will have a single point of contact to discover these crafts and connect with the artisans themselves. It’s not just about promoting sarees, but expanding the market for all traditional Indian textiles.
Many luxury brands have long used Indian weaves and embroidery without crediting the artisans or the regions they come from. Post-colonial shifts led to the erasure of many fabric traditions. Today, we no longer grow the same varieties of cotton or silk that were once used to create legendary fabrics—like sarees fine enough to pass through a ring.
Some weaving styles are now extinct. Save the Weave is an effort to preserve what remains and revive what we can.
Championing the cause, Radhe Jaggi joined FICCI FLO Vijayawada members on a visit to nearby Ponduru the next day – a village renowned for its cotton khadi sarees. She took home a handcrafted keepsake, leaving Vizag with memories of an enchanting evening together.
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