Gautam Sarabhai (4 March 1917 – 28 August 1995) was an industrialist and businessman from the

Sarabhai family The Sarabhai family is a prominent Indian family active in several fields. The patriarch, Ambalal Sarabhai, was a leading industrialist. While he created significant wealth, his children interested themselves in a wide variety of other endeavou ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Birth

Gautam was born to industrialist Seth Ambalal Sarabhai and Sarladevi on 4 March 1917. He was the fifth child and second son of the couple. His elder brother was Surhid and younger was

Vikram Sarabhai Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (12 August 1919 – 30 December 1971) was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped develop nuclear power in India. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1966 and the Padma Vibhushan ...

, the father of the Indian space program.

Family

He was married to Kamalini Sarabhai, a trained psychoanalyst from

Tavistock Clinic The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health trust based in north London. The Trust specialises in talking therapies. The education and training department caters for 2,000 students a year from the United Kin ...

and the founder of BM Institute of Mental Health. The couple has two daughters named Shyama and Mana Sarabhai Brearly. Cricketer

Mike Brearley John Michael Brearley (born 28 April 1942) is a retired English first-class cricketer who captained Cambridge University, Middlesex, and England. He captained the international side in 31 of his 39 Test matches, winning 18 and losing only 4. ...

is Gautam Sarabhai's son-in-law.

Career

Gautam Sarabhai joined Calico in 1940 as a director at the age of 22. With his keen sense of initiative, entrepreneurial talent and an innate financial acumen, he succeeded his father as chairman of the company in 1945. He took control of other group companies after death of his elder brother Surhid Sarabhai in 1945, while

was involved in developing India's space program. He expanded the textile mills and diversified the group into chemicals, plastics and fibres, harnessing modern technology to meet the challenge of the future. He not only looked after the Calico Mills but also helped start the

National Institute of Design The National Institutes of Design (NIDs) are a group of autonomous public design universities in India, with the primary institute, founded in 1961, in Ahmedabad, with extension campuses in Gandhinagar and Bengaluru. The other NIDs are loc ...

along with his sister

Gira Sarabhai Gira Sarabhai (11 December 1923 – 15 July 2021) was an Indian architect, designer, and a design pedagogue. She was born into the Sarabhai family and was the youngest of eight siblings. She is known for contributing to several industrial and e ...

in 1961. The group suffered a setback in 1980s due to family feud also arose between the next of the kin of his brothers and Gautam and Surhid Jr and Kartikeya Sarabhai were ousted from management in 1982 by Gautam Sarabhai. Kamalini and Gautam also helped start The Psychotherapy Study Group and B. M. Institute of Mental Health. He was an avid lover of arts and had a collection of statues and paintings.

Death

He died on 28 August 1995. After his death, the Sarabhai group came into the hands of Kartikeya Sarabhai.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarabhai, Gautam 1917 births 1995 deaths Businesspeople from Ahmedabad Indian businesspeople in textiles Gautam Textile industry in Gujarat Designers at National Institute of Design Academic staff of National Institute of Design