The Sarabhai family is a prominent Indian family active in several fields. The patriarch,

Ambalal Sarabhai Ambalal Sarabhai (23 February 1890 – 13 July 1967) was an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, institution builder, and supporter of Mahatma Gandhi. He was the chairman and promoter of Calico Mills and the founder of The Sarabhai Group of Com ...

, was a leading

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through per ...

. While he created significant wealth, his children interested themselves in a wide variety of other endeavours, and the family is better known for those activities, rather than for industrial enterprise, which is now all but defunct.

Family history

The Sarabhai family are major business family of India belonging to the Shrimal Jain community. Its twentieth century doyen Sheth

, was a Jain industrialist. He had five daughters and three sons who were involved in the family business as well as the Indian independence movement. After India's freedom, the family remained involved in developmental tasks undertaken by the government of India.

was a prominent mill-owner and also interested in philanthropic activities. His wife Sarladevi Sarabhai was impressed by the

Maria Montessori Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( , ; August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early age, Montessori e ...

philosophy and in the year 1922, Montessori sent E. M. Standing to India for the

homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

of Sarabhai children. Sarabhai Enterprises branched out after India's independence and many pioneer ventures were made in fields dominated by foreign companies. The manufacture of drugs and pharmaceuticals, chemicals and intermediates, dyes and pigments, industrial and household detergents, soaps and cosmetics, industrial packaging and containers, and later engineering and electronic products.

Family members

Prominent members of the Sarabhai family include: *

. Patriarch of the family. Born into a family of tradesmen, he invested the family wealth into various industrial enterprises in the early 1900s, including Sarabhai Textile Mills at

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 ...

, which was one of the largest in India at that time. * Anasuya Sarabhai (sister of Ambalal Sarabhai), a trade unionist, activist and freedom fighter. Married young, she never cohabited with her husband. *Saraladevi Sarabhai (wife of Ambalal Sarabhai) and the mother of his eight children (three sons and five daughters) **Suhrid Sarabhai Sr. (son of Ambalal Sarabhai), industrialist ***Manorama Sarabhai (wife of Suhrid Sarabhai), commissioned

Villa Sarabhai Villa Sarabhai, or Villa de Madame Manorama Sarabhai, is a modernist villa located in Ahmedabad, India. Designed by the Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier, it was built between 1951 and 1955. It was built with an austere interior, a typical ...

***Anand Sarabhai (son of Suhrid Sr), molecular biologist, partner of Lynda Benglis, American

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

***Suhrid Sarabhai Jr (son of Suhrid Sr), industrialist ****Asha Sarabhai, wife of Suhrid Jr, clothing designer ***Sanjay Sarabhai (son of Suhrid Jr) ***Samir Sarabhai (son of Suhrid Jr) ** Gautam Sarabhai (son of Ambalal Sarabhai), industrialist, philanthropist, co founder & the architect of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad *** Kamalini Sarabhai (wife of Gautam Sarabhai), co founder of B.M. Institute of Mental Health ***Mana Sarabhai Brearley (daughter of Gautam Sarabhai) ****Mischa Gorchov Brearley (son of Mana Sarabhai Brearley with artist Robert Gorchov) ****Lara Brearley (daughter of Mana Sarabhai Brearley with

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 ...

) ***Shyama Gautam Sarabhai (daughter of Gautam Sarabhai) ****Anand Zaveri (husband of Shyama Gautam Sarabhai) ****Shaan Zaveri (son of Shyama Gautam Sarabhai), real estate developer in Ahmedabad ** Mridula Sarabhai (daughter of Ambalal Sarabhai), Indian independence activist and politician; unmarried **

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 ...

(son of Ambalal Sarabhai), co-founder of

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman o ...

and

IIM Ahmedabad Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad) is the world's number 1 business school, located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The school has been accorded the status of an Institute of National Importance by Ministry of Human Resourc ...

***

Mrinalini Sarabhai Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai (11 May 1918 – 21 January 2016) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, ...

(wife of Vikram Sarabhai), danseuse ***

Kartikeya Sarabhai Kartikeya Vikram Sarabhai (born 27 November 1947) is one of the world's leading environmental educators and a dedicated community builder. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, in 2012. Biography Kartikeya Sar ...

(son of Vikram Sarabhai), educationist and environmentalist ****Rajshree Sarabhai (wife of Kartikeya Sarabhai), writer and former director of Rajka Designs, a textile design studio ****Samvit Sarabhai (son of Kartikeya Sarbhai), current director of Rajka Designs ****Mohal Sarabhai (son of Kartikeya Sarbhai), managing director of Asence Pharma Pvt. Ltd., and Synbiotics Limited (a Sarabhai Family company incorporated in 1960) *** Mallika Sarabhai (daughter of Vikram Sarabhai), a danseuse and activist; briefly married to Bipin Shah, a publisher **** Revanta Sarabhai (son of Mallika Sarabhai and Bipin Shah), dancer ****Anahita Sarabhai (daughter of Mallika Sarabhai), performance artist & co-founder of QueerAbad **Leena Mangaldas (daughter of Ambalal Sarabhai), founder of Shreyas Foundation. ***Madanmohan Mangaldas Girdhardas (husband of Leena Mangaldas), noted industrialist ***Kamal Mangaldas (son of Leena Mangaldas), noted architect ****Arjun Mangaldas (son of Kamal Mangaldas), architect *****Leeza Mangaldas (daughter of Arjun Magaldas), popular sex-positive content creator ****Abhay Mangaldas (son of Kamal Mangaldas), hotelier, founder of House of MG, a heritage hotel in Ahmedabad ** Gira Sarabhai (daughter of Ambalal Sarabhai), co founder of 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 ...

, the

Calico Museum of Textiles The Calico Museum of Textiles is located in the city of Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat in western India. The museum is managed by the Sarabhai Foundation. History The museum was founded in 1949 by the enterprising siblings Gautam Sarabha ...

** Gita Mayor (daughter of Ambalal Sarabhai), Indian musician; well known for her patronage in music ***Satyadev Mayor, (husband of Gita Mayor) ***Pallavi Satyadev Mayor (daughter of Gita Mayor) ****Ajay Mayor (son of Pallavi Mayor) **Bharti Sarabhai, (daughter of Ambalal Sarabhai), unmarried

Institutions built by Sarabhai family

Calico Mills The Calico Mills, officially Ahmedabad Manufacturing and Calico Printing Mills Ltd and M/S ILAC Ltd, was one of the earliest textile mills established in Ahmedabad, India by Sarabhai family. Established in 1888, it closed in 1998. The land, pla ...

- Ambalal Sarabhai # Jubilee Mills - Ambalal Sarabhai #

Kasturba Gandhi Rashtriya Smarak Trust Kasturbai Mohandas Gandhi (, born Kasturbai Gokuldas Kapadia; 11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was an Indian political activist. She married Mohandas Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, in 1883. With her husband and her eldest so ...

- Sarladevi Ambalal Sarabhai # Majoor Mahajan - Anasuyaben Sarabhai # Jyoti Sangh - Mridulaben Sarabhai # Vikas Gruh - Mridulaben Sarabhai # Shreyas Foundation & School - Leenaben Mangaldas # B.M. Institute of Mental Health - Gautam Sarabhai # The Physcotherapy Study Group - Gautam Sarabhai #

- Gautam Sarabhai and Gira Sarabhai #

Darpana Academy of Performing Arts Darpana Academy of Performing Arts is a school for performing arts in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, established by Mrinalini Sarabhai and Vikram Sarabhai in 1949, it has been directed by their daughter Mallika Sarabhai for the last three decades. The sc ...

- Mrinalini & Vikram Sarabhai #

- Gira Sarabhai # Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises, Baroda - Gautam Sarabhai, a commercial (corporate) venture #

Centre for Environment Education The Centre for Environment Education (CEE) in India was established in August 1984 as a Centre of Excellence supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The organisation works towards developing programmes and materials to increase aware ...

- Kartikeya Sarabhai # VIKSAT - Kartikeya Sarabhai #

CHETNA ''Chetna'' () is a 1970 Bollywood drama film directed by B.R. Ishara. The film stars Shatrughan Sinha, Anil Dhawan and Rehana Sultan. The film focuses on the subject of rehabilitation of prostitutes. However, the film is more famous for its bol ...

- Kartikeya Sarabhai # Sangeet Kendra - Geeta Mayor # Darpana for Development - Mallika Sarabhai # Mapin Publishing - Mallika Sarabhai and her husband Bipin Shah Gautam Gira Sarabhai Square

Major institution building efforts of Vikram Sarabhai (1947-1971)

No.4 was renamed as the Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre after Dr. Sarabhai’s death in 1971. No.18 & 19 were merged under the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre after Dr. Sarabhai’s death in 1971. Nos.21,22,23,24,25 and 26 were merged under the Space Applications Centre after Dr. Sarabhai’s death in 1971. No. 31 was renamed as Vikram Earth Station after Dr. Sarabhai’s death in 1971. File:Sitting fourth from left is Vikram Sarabhai. Baroda, 1950.jpg, Vikram Sarabhai File:This luncheon group photo with several members of the Sarabhai family. Baroda, 1951.jpg, Seated Gita Sarabhai Mayor, Vikram Sarabhai and Gira Sarabhai. File:Gita Sarabhai Mayor, Ahmedabad, 1952.jpg, Gita Sarabhai Mayor File:Gita (nee Sarabhai) Mayor, Baroda, 1951.jpg, Gita Sarabhai Mayor File:Gita (nee Sarabhai) Mayor in either Ahmedabad or New York, 1952.jpg, Gita Sarabhai Mayor File:Mr. Pandya of Sarabhai, Gita Sarabhai Mayor and daughter Pallavi, Dorothy Waller, and Satyadev Mayor seeing off the Hamiltons,Bombay Airport, 1953.jpg File:Baroda, 1951.jpg, Seated fifth from left, Gita sarabhai Mayor File:Luncheon at the Polo Club, Baroda, 1951.jpg, Ambalal Sarabhai can be spotted at the back close to the glass windows/doors. File:Gita and Ambalal, Ahmedabad, 1952.jpg, Gita and Ambalal Sarabhai File:"Retreat", Sarabhai Residence, Ahmedabad, 1951.jpg, Ambalal Sarabhai and Saraladevi Sarabhai (back towards the camera) File:Gautam's home, Ahmedabad, 1952.jpg, Gautam Sarabhai wearing half shirt and tie, third from the left standing next to his father Ambalal Sarabhai File:Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, Ahmedabad, 1951.jpg, A young Vikram Sarabhai File:Retreat, Ahmedabad, 1951.jpg, Ambalal Sarabhai third from left. First from left is Nathan Hughes Hamilton, an employee at Squibb- Sarabhai Chemicals, Baroda. File:Gita Mayor and others. Shiv Mahal Palace, Baroda, 1952.jpg, Gita Sarabhai Mayor in black saree wearing a bindi, on the right. File:Gira Sarabhai Ahmedabad 1951.jpg, Gira Sarabhai probably at

References

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External links