Search Results - Jayakar, Pupul

Pupul Jayakar

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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour) in 1967. Provided by Wikipedia