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Updated: Jan 21, 2016 16:38 IST

Legendary bharatanatyam dancer and Padma Bhushan recipent Mrinalini Sarabhai, passed away on Thursday morning at the age of 97. Wife of renowned Indian scientist Vikram Sarabhai, she’s survived by her son, well known environmentalist Kartikeya Sarabhai and daughter renowned danseuse Mallika Sarabhai.

Eminent Indian classical dancer Padma Vibhushan Sonal Mansingh pays tribute to the celebrated dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai.

Read: I never compromised, says Mrinalini Sarabhai

Mrinalini Sarabhai was one of the leading lights of the Indian dance scene for a long time and lived till her ripe old age. I remember her as someone who was always dressed very beautifully. She would wear beautiful saris, jewellery, kajal a nose stud and had a very striking persona.

She was a Malayali and belonged to a very good family. Her father was a barrister and her mother Ammu Swaminathan, I remember, was a very famous social worker who was actively involved in the independence struggle. Mrinalini ji learnt Bharatanatyam along with other dance forms and partnered with the famous dancer Ram Gopal. Later, she met Vikram Sarabhai, a scientist who belonged to an affluent Gujarati family and married him.

She came to live in Ahmedabad in those early years when Ahmedabad had a lot of Gujarati culture but she was able to instil interest in Bharatanatyam and Kathakali among the people there, especially because she started an institution. Around that time, she partnered with Chathunni Panicker a wonderful Kathakali dancer, created some dance ballads such as Manushya… I forget the other names because they were performed so long ago and I had seen in my teens.

Mrinalini Sarabhai and her daughter Mallika Sarabhai perform during the 'The 30th Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival' in Delhi. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

She established Bharatanaytam and Kathakali and classical dance in Ahmedabad and of course she travelled with her group abroad and got recognized internationally. All the while her husband Vikram Sarabhai, who became a great scientist, supported her to the hilt.

And not just dance, I also remember that she had a lot of interest in handicraft and handlooms and was associated with Gurjari (Gujarat State Handicrafts Emporium). She was a very multi-faceted personality and my condolences to the family. I feel her memory should always be celebrated.

(As told to Torsha Sen)