Mallika Sarabhai
Encyclopedia
Mallika Sarabhai (born 9 May 1954) is an activist and Indian Classical Dancer from Ahmedabad
, Gujarat, India
. Daughter of Classical Dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai
and renowned Space Scientist Vikram Sarabhai
, Mallika is an accomplished Kuchipudi
and Bharatanatyam
dancer.
, Gujarat, India
in 1954 to Vikram Sarabhai
and Mrinalini Sarabhai
. She completed her MBA from IIM Ahmedabad in 1974 and Doctorate
in Organisational Behaviour from the Gujarat University
in 1976. She is a noted choreographer and dancer and has also acted in few Hindi and Gujarati films.
in the Peter Brook
's play The Mahabharata
. Mallika has won many accolades during her long career, the Golden Star Award being one of them, which she won for the Best Dance Soloist, Theatre De Champs Elysees, Paris 1977. As well as a dancer, Sarabhai is a social activist. She, along with her mother, manages the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts located at Ahmedabad.
Mallika Sarabhai also wrote the script for the play Unsuni based on Harsh Mander's book Unheard Voices. Arvind Gaur
later directed it as a play, with the same name. Darpana Academy has launched the people awareness movement through its production Unsuni which travels all over India.
In 2009 Mallika Sarabhai acted in Bertolt Brecht
's Indian adaptation of The Good Person of Szechwan
( Ahmedabad
ki Aurat Bhali-Ramkali) directed by Arvind Gaur
in 34th Vikram Sarabhai
International Art Festival.
Mallika met Bipin Shah during her college days and eventually married him. They were divorced seven years later. They have two children, a son, Revanta and a daughter Anahita. Bipin and Mallika co-founded Mapin Publishing
in 1984 and continue to run it together.
On 19 March 2009, Mallika Sarabhai announced her candidature against the Bharatiya Janata Party
’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha
seat, as an independent candidate. A Congress
spokesperson made it clear that she was not the Congress's candidate, nevertheless there was speculation that the Congress high command had asked the Gujarat state unit to support her candidature. In a reply to a question, she said she had neither personally approached the Congress nor did it offer to make her its candidate for the 2009 election, however in the past she had received many offer from the Congress to contest election, the first being in 1984 from Rajiv Gandhi
. She described her candidature as a Satyagraha
against the politics of hatred. She eventually lost to L K Advani by a huge margin and forfeited her election deposit in the process.
During BJP chief minister's sadbhavna (harmony) fast ( from 17-19 Sept 2011) , she protested against the Chief Minister Narendra Modi
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
, Gujarat, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Daughter of Classical Dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai
Mrinalini Sarabhai
Mrinalini Sarabhai is a celebrated Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She is the founder director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, drama, music and puppetry, in the city of Ahmedabad...
and renowned Space Scientist Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be the father of the Indian space program; legendary Homi Bhabha’s successor as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; and was as at home in the world of the arts as in his favourite laboratory. His interests were vast and...
, Mallika is an accomplished Kuchipudi
Kuchipudi
Kuchipudi is a Classical Indian dance form Andhra Pradesh, India. It is also popular all over South India. Kuchipudi is the name of a village in the Divi Taluka of Krishna district that borders the Bay of Bengal and with resident Brahmins practicing this traditional dance form, it acquired the...
and Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam
Bharata Natyam or Chadhir Attam, is a classical dance form from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, practiced predominantly in modern times by women. The dance is usually accompanied by classical Carnatic music...
dancer.
Early life
Mallika Sarabhai was born in AhmedabadAhmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
, Gujarat, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1954 to Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be the father of the Indian space program; legendary Homi Bhabha’s successor as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; and was as at home in the world of the arts as in his favourite laboratory. His interests were vast and...
and Mrinalini Sarabhai
Mrinalini Sarabhai
Mrinalini Sarabhai is a celebrated Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She is the founder director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, drama, music and puppetry, in the city of Ahmedabad...
. She completed her MBA from IIM Ahmedabad in 1974 and Doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in Organisational Behaviour from the Gujarat University
Gujarat University
The Gujarat University is the statewide institution affiliating many reputed colleges across the state of Gujarat, India. It has been given a B++ ranking by National Assessment and Accreditation Council .-History:...
in 1976. She is a noted choreographer and dancer and has also acted in few Hindi and Gujarati films.
Career
She started to learn dancing when she was young, and started her film career in parallel cinema, when she was 15. Mallika played the role of DraupadiDraupadi
In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...
in the Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
's play The Mahabharata
The Mahabharata (1989 film)
The Mahabharata is a 1989 film version of the Indian epic, Mahabharata, directed by Peter Brook. Brook's original 1985 stage play was 9 hours long, and toured around the world for four years. In 1989, it was reduced to under 6 hours for television . Later it was also reduced to about 3 hours for...
. Mallika has won many accolades during her long career, the Golden Star Award being one of them, which she won for the Best Dance Soloist, Theatre De Champs Elysees, Paris 1977. As well as a dancer, Sarabhai is a social activist. She, along with her mother, manages the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts located at Ahmedabad.
Theatre for awareness
In 1989 she performed hard-hitting solo theatrical works, Shakti: The Power of Women. After it she directed and acteded in numerous productions reflecting current issues and awareness among people.Mallika Sarabhai also wrote the script for the play Unsuni based on Harsh Mander's book Unheard Voices. Arvind Gaur
Arvind Gaur
Arvind Gaur , Indian theatre director, is known for his work in innovative, socially and politically relevant theatre. Gaur's plays are contemporary and thought-provoking, connecting intimate personal spheres of existence to larger social political issues...
later directed it as a play, with the same name. Darpana Academy has launched the people awareness movement through its production Unsuni which travels all over India.
In 2009 Mallika Sarabhai acted in Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
's Indian adaptation of The Good Person of Szechwan
The Good Person of Szechwan
The Good Person of Szechwan is a play written by the German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht, in collaboration with Margarete Steffin and Ruth Berlau. The play was begun in 1938 but not completed until 1943, while the author was in exile in the United States...
( Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
ki Aurat Bhali-Ramkali) directed by Arvind Gaur
Arvind Gaur
Arvind Gaur , Indian theatre director, is known for his work in innovative, socially and politically relevant theatre. Gaur's plays are contemporary and thought-provoking, connecting intimate personal spheres of existence to larger social political issues...
in 34th Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be the father of the Indian space program; legendary Homi Bhabha’s successor as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; and was as at home in the world of the arts as in his favourite laboratory. His interests were vast and...
International Art Festival.
Personal life
"I have always done things without hiding them," says Mallika, remembering her college days, which saw her wearing mini-skirts, dating men, even going in for a live-in relationship. She recalls her mother’s horror when she first started living with somebody, “I explained to her why it was important for me to find out if I wanted a permanent commitment or not."Mallika met Bipin Shah during her college days and eventually married him. They were divorced seven years later. They have two children, a son, Revanta and a daughter Anahita. Bipin and Mallika co-founded Mapin Publishing
Mapin Publishing
Mapin Publishing is an Indian art book publishing company started in 1984 by Bipin Shah and Mallika Sarabhai. It publishes illustrated books on Indian art, culture and literature and is based in Ahmedabad.....
in 1984 and continue to run it together.
Political career
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
seat, as an independent candidate. A Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
spokesperson made it clear that she was not the Congress's candidate, nevertheless there was speculation that the Congress high command had asked the Gujarat state unit to support her candidature. In a reply to a question, she said she had neither personally approached the Congress nor did it offer to make her its candidate for the 2009 election, however in the past she had received many offer from the Congress to contest election, the first being in 1984 from Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
. She described her candidature as a Satyagraha
Satyagraha
Satyagraha , loosely translated as "insistence on truth satya agraha soul force" or "truth force" is a particular philosophy and practice within the broader overall category generally known as nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. The term "satyagraha" was conceived and developed by Mahatma...
against the politics of hatred. She eventually lost to L K Advani by a huge margin and forfeited her election deposit in the process.
During BJP chief minister's sadbhavna (harmony) fast ( from 17-19 Sept 2011) , she protested against the Chief Minister Narendra Modi
Awards and honours
- Padma BhushanPadma BhushanThe Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
, third highest civilian award in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, 2010 - Crystal Award by World Economic ForumWorld Economic ForumThe World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
, 2008 . - Theatre Pasta Theatre AwardsTheatre Pasta Theatre AwardsThe Theatre Pasta Theatre Awards are administered by three organizations, Chilsag International, Actor’s Experimental Lab USA and Theatre Pasta, the International Theatre Magazine and are Supported by MIdland Solutions London UK..-Objective:...
, 2007. - Nominated as one among 1000 women for Nobel Peace Prize ,2005.
- Indian for Collective Actions Honour Award, 2004.
- Kala Shiromani Purskar, Institute of Economic Studies, 2004.
- Woman of the Year, Indian Merchants’ Chamber(IMC), 2003.
- Knight of the Order of Arts & Letters, French Government, 2002.
- Sangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
for Creative Dance, 2000. - Chevalier des Palmes Academiques, French Government, 1999.
- Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress, Sheesha, 1984.
- Best Film Actress Award for, "Mena Gurjari", a Gujarati film, by Govt.of Gujarat, 1975.
- Film Critics Award for Best Actress, Muthi Bhar Chawal, 1974.
See also
- Indian women in dance
- Sarabhai familySarabhai familyThe Sarabhai family has been a major business family of India belonging to the Shrimal Jain community. Members include*Ambalal Sarabhai was in the 1940s and 1950s, the owner of the Sarabhai Textile Mills in Ahmedabad - at the time one of India's largest textile companies.*Anasuyaben , Gandhian...
- Vikram SarabhaiVikram SarabhaiVikram Ambalal Sarabhai was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be the father of the Indian space program; legendary Homi Bhabha’s successor as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; and was as at home in the world of the arts as in his favourite laboratory. His interests were vast and...
- Mrinalini SarabhaiMrinalini SarabhaiMrinalini Sarabhai is a celebrated Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She is the founder director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, drama, music and puppetry, in the city of Ahmedabad...
- Jan Lokpal BillJan Lokpal BillThe Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the citizens' ombudsman bill, is a proposed independent anti-corruption law in India. Anti-corruption social activists proposed it as a more effective improvement to the original Lokpal bill, which is currently being proposed by the Government of India.The...
External links
Further reading
- India’s 50 Most Illustrious Women (ISBN 81-88086-19-3) by Indra Gupta