Tarabai Modak (19 April 1892-1973) was born in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. She graduated from the

University of Mumbai The University of Mumbai is a collegiate university, collegiate, State university (India), state-owned, Public university, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the un ...

in 1914. She was married to a lawyer from

Amravati Amravati (pronunciation (help·info)) is the second largest city in the Vidarbha region and ninth largest city in Maharashtra, India. It is administrative headquarters of Amravati district and Amravati division which includes Akola, Buldha ...

, Mr. Modak. Later she got a divorce in 1921. She worked as a principal of a

Women's College Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male stud ...

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

. Social worker from

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Maharashtra, proposed state of central India, comprising th ...

region of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

Balwadi ''Balwadi'' is a native marathi name for pre-schools in Maharashtra. It has been defined by Grewal who is quoted by R. P. Shukla as "A rural pre-primary school run economically but scientifically and using as many educational aids as possible, prepa ...

s were first developed by her, the first balwadi was started in Bordi a coastal village in

Thane district Thane district (Pronunciation: �ʰaːɳe previously named Taana or Thana) is a district in the Konkan Division of Maharashtra, India. At the 2011 Census it was the most populated district in the country, with 11,060,148 inhabitants; however, i ...

by ''Nutan Bal Shikshan Sangh''. She was awarded

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

in 1962 for her work in

preschool education A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

Anutai Wagh Anutai Wagh (17 March 1910 – 1992) was one of the pioneers of pre-school education in India. She was the professional colleague of Tarabai Modak. She along with Modak pioneered a programme whose curriculum was indigenous, used low cost tea ...

was her disciple. She was a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

Legacy

A play based on her life, ''Ghar Tighancha Hava'', was produced by

Ratnakar Matkari Ratnakar Ramkrushna Matkari (17 November 1938 – 17 May 2020) was a Marathi writer, a movie and play producer/director, and a self-taught artist from Maharashtra, India. Life Matkari was born on 17 November 1938 in Mumbai. After earning ...

References

1892 births 1973 deaths People from Mumbai University of Mumbai alumni Social workers 20th-century Indian educational theorists Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work 19th-century Indian women 19th-century Indian people 20th-century Indian women scientists Women educators from Maharashtra Educators from Maharashtra Social workers from Maharashtra 20th-century women educators {{India-bio-stub