Girija Shettar was born on July 20, 1969 in Orsett, Essex to a Kannada doctor father and a British mother. From the age of 18, Girija got trained in Bharatanatyam. She has completed a doctoral thesis in Integral Yoga Philosophy & Indian spiritual psychology from Cardiff University in 2003. She spends as much time as possible at Sri Aurobindo Ashram of Pondicherry.[1] Girija is currently(as of august 2012) a writer based in London. Previously working for a medical technology newsletter, she is now writing for a shipping magazine.[2] A booklet of haiku poetry entitled "This Year, Daffodils" was published by Survivors' Poetry and the Esmee Fairburn Foundation, 2011. After the release of film Geethanjali,[3] she has appeared on the front page of Screen (magazine), India June 30, 1989 issue.[4] In 2002, "Gitanjali" was one of five films shown at the British Film Institute during a retrospective of Mani Ratnam's work. The films were chosen as examples of strong heroine roles in Indian films.