Pupul Jayakar
Encyclopedia
Pupul Jayakar was an Indian cultural activist and writer, most known for her work towards the revival of traditional and village arts, handlooms and handicrafts in post-independence India, as well as organizing a series of Indian arts festivals in the 1980s in France, US and Japan that are "credited with popularizing Indian artistic achievements in the West". She was also a close friend and biographer to both the Nehru-Gandhi family and spiritual teacher J Krishnamurti. Her closeness with three prime ministers, Jawaharlal Nehru], his daughter[Indira Gandhi]and her son[Rajiv Gandhi, and appointment as cultural adviser to latter two, establish her cultural suzerainty, thus she "presided colossus-like over the country's cultural scene for nearly 40 years", founding numerous arts and crafts institutions and promoting talented artists, Indian arts and crafts through festivals and exhibitions all over the world.
In 1950, Jawaharlal Nehru
, invited to study the handloom sector and workout plans for its revival, eventually she served as the Chair-person of All India Handloom Board and Handicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation and played an important role in the revival of Madhubani painting. She founded National Crafts Museum in 1956, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage[INTACH] in 1984, which works for restoration of the monuments and their management, advocacy for heritage property conservation, and was a founder 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. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan, (India's third highest civilian honour) in 1967.
At the age of eleven, she went to Banaras (Varanasi), where she studied in a school started by Annie Besant, theosophist, who was also active in Indian freedom movement. Subsequently her father got posted to Allahabad, where she first came in contact with Nehru family at age fifteen, as her father was a friend of Motilal Nehru. Later, she became friends with daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Priyadarshini(later, Indira Gandhi).
She attended Bedford College in London
before graduating from the London School of Economics
in 1936. On returning home she married Manmohan Jayakar, a barrister, and settled down in Bombay (now Mumbai
).
Early on, she became a close friend with Indira Gandhi who, on becoming prime minister in 1966, appointed Jayakar as her cultural adviser. She became the executive director and later chair-person, of the Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation of India. From 1974 for three years she chaired the All India Handicrafts Board (HHEC).
She was behind the Festivals of India organized in London, Paris and America lasting several months in the early 1980s and the 'Apna Utsav' (Our Festivals) during the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi, to whom also she was a cultural adviser, and held the rank of Cabinet minister. In 1982, she was appointed vice-president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), and remained vice-chairman of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust (1985–1989), apart from prime minister's adviser on heritage and cultural resources. At the request of her friend Indira Gandhi, she founded the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage in 1984.
Pupul Jayakar was one of the enduring supporters of the 'Hungry Generation', a literary movement in Bengal, and had helped the Hungryalites during their trial in 1961. She was active with the Krishnamurti Foundation in India until her death. She helped in the establishment of the Krishnamurti Foundation in India, U. S. A., England and some Latin American countries. She also played a great part in running the Rishi Valley School at Madanapalle, Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh.
She inspired many a young girl to be named after her unique name, prominent among those is Mrs. Nandini Pushkar Trivedi née Miss Nandini Vyas, the famous educationist who runs a school for the rural children on Bhopal-Berasia Road, by the name of Brigadier Trivedi Memorial Academy. Her popular name is Pupul, so kept by her parents from Varanasi, who were greatly influenced by Mrs. Pupul Jayakar's work, and that of her sister Ms. Nandini Mehta. Nandini Trivedi also named her niece Radhika Vyas after Pupul Jayakar's daughter. Both Pupul and Nandini settled down in Mumbai.
She died in Mumbai, on 29 March 1997, after a brief illness.
In 1950, Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, invited to study the handloom sector and workout plans for its revival, eventually she served as the Chair-person of All India Handloom Board and Handicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation and played an important role in the revival of Madhubani painting. She founded National Crafts Museum in 1956, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage[INTACH] in 1984, which works for restoration of the monuments and their management, advocacy for heritage property conservation, and was a founder 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. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan, (India's third highest civilian honour) in 1967.
Early life and education
Pupul Jayakar was born in 1915 at Etawah, in the state of United Provinces (Uttar Pradesh). Her father was a liberal intellectual and senior officer in the Indian Civil Service, while mother came from a Gujarati Brahmin family from Surat, where Pupul spent her yearly summer breaks. She had a brother, Kumaril Mehta and 4 sisters, Purnima, Premlata, Amarganga and Nandini Mehta. Her father's work took the family to many parts of India, where she got the opportunity to absorb local crafts and traditions early on in life.At the age of eleven, she went to Banaras (Varanasi), where she studied in a school started by Annie Besant, theosophist, who was also active in Indian freedom movement. Subsequently her father got posted to Allahabad, where she first came in contact with Nehru family at age fifteen, as her father was a friend of Motilal Nehru. Later, she became friends with daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Priyadarshini(later, Indira Gandhi).
She attended Bedford College in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
before graduating from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
in 1936. On returning home she married Manmohan Jayakar, a barrister, and settled down in Bombay (now Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
).
Career
After settling in Bombay she launched 'Toy Cart', an English-language children's magazine illustrated by noted painters, Jamini Roy and M.F. Hussain. She became politically involved after becoming assistant to Indian National Congress|Congress activist Mridula Sarabhai in the Kasturba Trust in 1940. She was also appointed assistant secretary of the women’s affairs in the National Planning Committee, then headed by Jawaharlal Nehru. In the late 1940s she became friends with J Krishnamurti and also became involved in the handloom industry. She established the Weavers' Service Centre, Besant Nagar, in Madras (Chennai), under the aegis of the Ministry of Textiles.Early on, she became a close friend with Indira Gandhi who, on becoming prime minister in 1966, appointed Jayakar as her cultural adviser. She became the executive director and later chair-person, of the Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation of India. From 1974 for three years she chaired the All India Handicrafts Board (HHEC).
She was behind the Festivals of India organized in London, Paris and America lasting several months in the early 1980s and the 'Apna Utsav' (Our Festivals) during the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi, to whom also she was a cultural adviser, and held the rank of Cabinet minister. In 1982, she was appointed vice-president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), and remained vice-chairman of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust (1985–1989), apart from prime minister's adviser on heritage and cultural resources. At the request of her friend Indira Gandhi, she founded the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage in 1984.
Pupul Jayakar was one of the enduring supporters of the 'Hungry Generation', a literary movement in Bengal, and had helped the Hungryalites during their trial in 1961. She was active with the Krishnamurti Foundation in India until her death. She helped in the establishment of the Krishnamurti Foundation in India, U. S. A., England and some Latin American countries. She also played a great part in running the Rishi Valley School at Madanapalle, Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh.
She inspired many a young girl to be named after her unique name, prominent among those is Mrs. Nandini Pushkar Trivedi née Miss Nandini Vyas, the famous educationist who runs a school for the rural children on Bhopal-Berasia Road, by the name of Brigadier Trivedi Memorial Academy. Her popular name is Pupul, so kept by her parents from Varanasi, who were greatly influenced by Mrs. Pupul Jayakar's work, and that of her sister Ms. Nandini Mehta. Nandini Trivedi also named her niece Radhika Vyas after Pupul Jayakar's daughter. Both Pupul and Nandini settled down in Mumbai.
Family
She married Manmohan Jayakar, a barrister, in 1937, who died in 1972. Her daughter Mrs. Radhika Herzberger was born in 1938, who now presides and runs the Rishi Valley School at Madanapalle, Sahyadri School at Rajgurunagar (Pune) and Rajghat Besant School(Varanasi) and some other KFI schools. Kathak danseuse, Aditi Mangaldas is her niece.She died in Mumbai, on 29 March 1997, after a brief illness.
Books
Her best known books are her two biographies "J. Krishnamurti: A Biography" (1988) and "Indira Gandhi: An Intimate Biography" (1992). In the latter, Jayakar reveals that her close friend Indira Gandhi had personally expressed to her a premonition of her death in the wake of the Operation Bluestar incident http://www.sikhreview.org/august1994/analysis.htm.Works
- God is not a full stop: and other stories. Kutub, 1949.
- Textiles and embroideries of India. Marg Publications, 1956.
- Textiles and ornaments of India: a selection of designs, with John Irwin. 1972.
- The Earthen Drum: an introduction to the ritual arts of rural India. National Museum, 1980.
- The Buddha: a book for the young. Vakils, Feffer & Simons, 1982.
- What I am: Indira Gandhi in conversation with Pupul Jayakar. Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, 1986
- The Earth Mother. Penguin Books, 1989. ISBN 0140123520.
- Indira Gandhi: an intimate biography. Pantheon Books, 1992. ISBN 0679424792.
- The children of barren women: essays, investigations, stories. Penguin Books, 1994. ISBN 0140240.
- Fire in the mind: dialogues with J. Krishnamurti. Penguin Books, 1995. ISBN 0140251669.
- J. Krishnamurti: a biography. Arkana, 1996. ISBN 014019519X.
Further reading
- Dimensions of Indian art: Pupul Jayakar seventy, Volume 1, by Lokesh Chandra, Pupul Jayakar. Agam Kala Prakashan, 1986.