Pupul Jayakar

Pupul Jayakar
Born
Pupul Mehta

(1915-09-11)11 September 1915
Etawah, Uttar Pradesh
Died29 March 1997(1997-03-29) (aged 81)
Bombay (now Mumbai)
Alma materLondon School of Economics, Bedford College, London
ChildrenRadhika Herzberger
AwardsPadma Bhushan

Pupul Jayakar (née Mehta; 11 September 1915 – 29 March 1997) was an Indian cultural activist and writer, best known for her work on the revival of traditional and village arts, handlooms, and handicrafts in post-independence India. According to The New York Times, she was known as "India's 'czarina of culture'", and founded arts festivals that promoted Indian arts in France, Japan, and the United States.[1] She was a friend and biographer to both the Nehru-Gandhi family and J Krishnamurti. Jayakar had a close relationship with three prime ministers: Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi, and she was a close friend of Indira Gandhi. She served as cultural adviser to the latter two, confirming her preeminence in cultural matters.[2]

In 1950, Jawaharlal Nehru invited her to study the handloom sector and work out plans for its revival. Eventually she served as chair of the All-India Handloom Board and Handicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation and played an important role in the revival of Madhubani painting.[3] Jayakar founded the National Crafts Museum in 1956 and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in 1984 to restore and manage monuments and advocate for heritage property conservation.[1] She was a founder and trustee of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), established in 1985, and, in 1990, founded the National Institute of Fashion Technology in New Delhi.[2][4] She was also instrumental in conception of the idea of a national school of design (that later became National Institute of Design) after her meeting with Charles and Ray Eames.[5] She was awarded the Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour) in 1967.[6]

  1. ^ a b Burns, John F. (2 April 1997). "Pupul Jayakar, 81; Led Revival of Arts and Handicrafts in India". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ind was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference co was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "About IGNCA". IGNCA website. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  5. ^ Sethi, Ritu (2012). "CATALYSING CRAFT: Women who Shaped the Way". India International Centre Quarterly. 39 (3/4): 168–185. ISSN 0376-9771. JSTOR 24394283.
  6. ^ "Padma Bhushan Awardees". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Retrieved 28 June 2009.