Noted dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai passes away at 97
Celebrated Indian classical dancer, choreographer Mrinalini Sarabhai was born in Kerala on May 11, 1918. Her father Swaminathan was a renowned barrister at the Madras High Court and principal of the Madras Law College. Her mother Ammu Swaminathan was a freedom fighter and parliamentarian.- Her autobiography is titled Mrinalini Sarabhai: The Voice of the Heart.
- Mrinalini has choreographed more than 300 dance dramas, written novels, poems, plays and stories for children. She was also the chairperson of the Gujarat handicrafts body.
- She 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. She was also presented with a gold medal by the Mexican Government for her choreography for the Ballet Folklorico of Mexico.
- Among her numerous achievements are the Padma Bhushan (1992), the Padma Shri (1965) and a DLitt by the University of East Anglia, UK. She was also the first Indian to receive the medal and Diploma of the French Archives Internationales de la Danse.
- Mrinalini was the founder-director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts in Ahmedabad. She founded it in 1948. A year later, she performed at the Theatre National de Chaillot in Paris and received acclaim.
- Mrinalini married Indian physicist Vikram Sarabhai. She has a son Kartikeya and daughter Mallika. Mallika too is a celebrated danseuse.
- Back in India she trained in Bharatnatyam under Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai. Simultaneously she learnt Kathakali from Guru Thakazhi Kunchu Kurup.
- She spent her formative years in Santiniketan under the guidance of Rabindranath Tagore. Here she realised dance was her true calling. She also trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
- Mrinalini spent her childhood in Switzerland where she first got her first lessons in music the Dalcroze Method. Her elder sister Lakshmi Sehgal was the commander-in-chief of Subhas Chandra Bose's 'Rani of Jhansi Regiment'.
Celebrated Indian classical dancer, choreographer Mrinalini Sarabhai was born in Kerala on May 11, 1918. Her father Swaminathan was a renowned barrister at the Madras High Court and principal of the Madras Law College. Her mother Ammu Swaminathan was a freedom fighter and parliamentarian.
Noted dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai passes away at 97
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