Its one day after #NationalHandloomDay, I'm going to mirror what @prasannavika wrote about Pupul Jayakar - the one who started the All India Handicrafts Board. 
"Pupul Jayakar was born in the year 1915 in Uttar Pradesh, India. It’s very hard when talking about such strong and prominent personalities, what to tell and what to leave.
Pupul Jayakar is called India’s “Cultural Tsarina”. When we speak about India’s handloom, handicrafts and cultural history in the post Independence era, it is impossible to not mention her.
Ms Pupul Jayakar’s father was in the Indian civil service and his nature of work took the family to many parts of India where she got the opportunity to absorb many local crafts and arts.
She was very close to the Nehru family and in particular to Ms Indira Gandhi.
She was very close to the Nehru family and in particular to Ms Indira Gandhi.
When Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India in 1966, Ms Pupul Jayakar was appointed as her cultural advisor. She became the chairperson of the Handicrafts and Handloom corporation of India and chaired the All India handicrafts board from 1974 for 3 years.
She had an eye for excellence and travelled to very remote places in India seeking out traditional handicrafts, handlooms, arts and artisans.
The reason why many of our folk arts, crafts started gaining popularity outside India was because of the tireless efforts of people like Pupul Jayakar. She opened several design workshops and gave ideas for many marketing strategies to develop the traditional crafts.
She played a huge role in the cultural scene of our country for nearly 40 years.
She held the rank of cultural adviser during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as well. She played a huge role in the journey of the art form Madhubani.
She held the rank of cultural adviser during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as well. She played a huge role in the journey of the art form Madhubani.
When Bihar was hit by a severe drought in the 1960s, Ms Pupul Jayakar played an instrumental role in distributing handmade papers to the women artists of the region. This gave them the opportunity to showcase their talents and sell their art for livelihood.
She was a resilient woman and known for her speaking her mind out that often came out as being arrogant. Women like her lived their whole lives believing in a cause, working tirelessly towards it and also standing up for what they wanted to do.
It’s so inspiring to know that in a time where women oppression was rampant and gender equality was not even a thing to talk about, fierce women like her existed and walked with head held high.
On days when I sit and read so much about the folk art forms of our country, I have always felt sad that I have missed meeting many great women who silently spearheaded the growth of so many art forms.
Ms Pupul Jayakar will always be on that list of women I didn't have the fortune to meet.
This is just very very little of what I have collected about her and her contributions to our handicrafts, handloom sector."
This is just very very little of what I have collected about her and her contributions to our handicrafts, handloom sector."
Next in the series is Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. She's still writing this and hopes to be done by tomorrow. If you want to read it first, go over to instagram.com/sundarakala and hit that follow button :)
