Mrinalini Sarabhai | |
|---|---|
 Sarabhai in 2008 | |
| Born | Mrinalini Swaminadhan (1918-05-11)11 May 1918 |
| Died | 21 January 2016(2016-01-21) (aged 97) |
| Alma mater | Visva-Bharati University |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, choreographer |
| Title | Founder ofDarpana Academy of Performing Arts |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Mallika Sarabhai (daughter) Kartikeya Sarabhai (son) |
| Mother | Ammu Swaminathan |
| Relatives | Lakshmi Sahgal (elder sister) |
| Family | Swaminathan familySarabhai family |
| Honours | Padma Bhushan (1992) Padma Shri (1965) |
Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai (11 May 1918 – 21 January 2016) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She was the founder and director of theDarpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, drama, music and puppetry, in the city ofAhmedabad.[2] She receivedPadma Bhushan in 1992 andPadma Shri in 1965. She also received many other citations in recognition of her contribution to art.
Mrinalini was born to aTamil Brahmin father andMalayaliNair mother[3] in present-dayKerala on 11 May 1918.[4] Her father was Subbarama Swaminathan, a distinguished lawyer with degrees from Harvard and London Universities, who practised criminal law atMadras High Court and was later made Principal of the Madras Law College.[5] Her mother was her father'sSambandham partner (and later wife) A.V. Ammukutty, better known asAmmu Swaminathan, a social worker, an independence activist, and later a parliamentarian.[6] Her elder sisterLakshmi Sahgal was the commander-in-chief ofSubhas Chandra Bose's 'Rani of Jhansi Regiment' of theIndian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj).[7] Her elder brother,Govind Swaminadhan, was a barrister who practised in Madras as a specialist in constitutional and criminal law apart from civil law and company law; he was the attorney general forMadras State (nowTamil Nadu).[8]She attended a boarding school in Switzerland for two years, where, she received her first lessons in theDalcroze school, a Western technique of dance movements.[9] She was educated atShantiniketan under the guidance ofRabindranath Tagore where she realised her true calling. She then went for a short time to the United States where she enrolled in theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts. On returning to India, she began her training in the south Indian classical dance form ofBharatanatyam underMeenakshisundaram Pillai and the classical dance-drama ofKathakali under the legendary Guru ThakazhiKunchu Kurup.[10]
Mrinalini married the Indian physicistVikram Sarabhai who is considered to be the Father of theIndian Space Program on 3 September 1942. She has a son,Kartikeya and a daughterMallika who too went on to attain fame in dance and theatre. Mrinalini foundedDarpana in Ahmedabad in 1948. A year later, she performed at theThéâtre national de Chaillot in Paris.[citation needed]
Mrinalini and Vikram had a troubled marriage. According to biographer Amrita Shah, Vikram Sarabhai had a void in his personal life he sought to fill by dedicating himself to applying science for social good.[11]
Besides choreographing more than three hundred dance dramas, she has also written many novels, poetry, plays and stories for children. She was the chairperson of theGujarat State Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation Ltd. She was also one of the trustees of the Sarvodaya International Trust, an organisation for promotion of Gandhian ideals, and was also the chairperson of the Nehru Foundation for Development (NFD).[12] Her autobiography is titledMrinalini Sarabhai: The Voice of the Heart.[13]
She was admitted to hospital on 20 January 2016 and died the next day at the age of 97.[14]
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Mrinalini Sarabhai has been awarded by theIndian government with the national civilian awardsPadma Bhushan in 1992 and thePadma Shri in 1965.[15] She was honoured with the Degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa (LittD) by theUniversity of East Anglia,Norwich, UK in 1997. She was also the first Indian to receive the medal and Diploma of the French association Archives Internationales de la Danse. She received theKerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1988.[16] She was nominated to the executive committee of theInternational Dance Council, Paris in 1990[2] and awarded theSangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, New Delhi in 1994. She was presented with a gold medal by the Mexican Government for her choreography for the Ballet Folklorico of Mexico.[citation needed]
TheDarpana Academy of Performing Arts celebrated its golden jubilee on 28 December 1998, with the announcement of the annual "Mrinalini Sarabhai Award for Classical Excellence", in the field of classical dance.[17][18]
Mrinalini Sarabhai: The Artist and Her Art, a documentary film based on her life released in 2012. It was directed by Yadavan Chandran and produced by thePublic Service Broadcasting Trust.[19]
She was the first recipient of theNishagandhi Puraskaram, an annual award of theGovernment of Kerala. The award was presented in 2013.[20] She was awarded theDhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award in 2014.[21]
On 11 May 2018,Google Doodle commemorated her 100th birthday.[22]
Regina Cassandra portrayed her inSony LIV's seriesRocket Boys based on the life ofVikram Sarabhai andHomi J. Bhabha.[citation needed]
