23 Facts About Mrinalini Sarabhai

Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, drama, music and puppetry, in the city of Ahmedabad.

Mrinalini Sarabhai received Padma Bhushan in 1992 and Padma Shri in 1965.

Mrinalini Sarabhai received many other citations in recognition of her contribution to art.

Mrinalini Sarabhai's father was Subbarama Swaminathan, a distinguished lawyer with degrees from Harvard and London Universities, who practised criminal law at Madras High Court and was later made Principal of the Madras Law College.

Mrinalini Sarabhai's 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 for Madras State.

Mrinalini Sarabhai attended a boarding school in Switzerland for two years, where, she received her first lessons in the Dalcroze school, a Western technique of dance movements.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was educated at Shantiniketan under the guidance of Rabindranath Tagore where she realised her true calling.

Mrinalini Sarabhai then went for a short time to the United States where she enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Mrinalini married the Indian physicist Vikram Sarabhai who is considered to be the Father of the Indian Space Program in 1942.

Mrinalini Sarabhai has a son, Kartikeya and a daughter Mallika who too went on to attain fame in dance and theatre.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was the chairperson of the Gujarat State Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation Ltd.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was one of the trustees of the Sarvodaya International Trust, an organisation for promotion of Gandhian ideals, and was the chairperson of the Nehru Foundation for Development.

Mrinalini Sarabhai's autobiography is titled Mrinalini Sarabhai: The Voice of the Heart.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was admitted to hospital on 20 January 2016 and died the next day at the age of 97.

Mrinalini Sarabhai has been awarded by the Indian government with the national civilian awards Padma Bhushan in 1992 and the Padma Shri in 1965.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was honoured with the Degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa by the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK in 1997.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was the first Indian to receive the medal and Diploma of the French association Archives Internationales de la Danse.

Mrinalini Sarabhai received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1988.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was nominated to the Executive Committee of the International Dance Council, Paris in 1990 and awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, New Delhi in 1994.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was presented with a gold medal by the Mexican Government for her choreography for the Ballet Folklorico of Mexico.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was the first recipient of the Nishagandhi Puraskaram, an annual award of the Government of Kerala.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was awarded the Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award in 2014.