Pupul Jayakar passes into the ages

Pupul Jayakar, widely recognised as the czarina of Indian culture, died of cardiac arrest late on Friday night at her south Bombay home. She was 82.

Jayakar entered public life as an assistant secretary in the National Planning Committee, chaired by then prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

A graduate from the London School of Economics, Jayakar has held many important posts and was instrumental in popularising Festivals of India abroad to promote Indian art, culture and heritage. She was involved in many major cultural movements in the country.

Born in a Gujarati brahmin family on September 11, 1915 at Etawah in Uttar Pradesh, she was a close friend of Indira Gandhi and also wrote a much acclaimed bpography of the late prime minister.

A disciple of the famous philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, she became the executive director and later chairman, of the Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation of India. From 1974 for three years she chaired the All India Handicrafts Board.

In 1982, Jayakar was appointed vice-president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations. She chaired the Festivals of India in the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan as well as the Year of India-France.

In 1984, she founded INTACH, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. From 1985 for five years, Jayakar was the vice-chairman of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. She also functioned as the prime minister's adviser on heritage and cultural resources.

She also chaired the Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal and the National Institute of Fashion Technology.

She was married to Manmohan M Jayakar, a barrister, and lived in Bombay since 1937.