Sarala Birla


Sarala Birla was an Indian businesswoman and a prominent member of the Birla family of Indian industrialists. She took an interest in public education and, along with her husband, is credited with having co-founded about 45 educational institutions supported by her family's conglomerate.

Biography

Sarala Birla was born into a traditional Marwadi Hindu family, the daughter of Gandhian educationist and Congress Party worker Brijlal Biyani and his wife Savitri Devi Biyani. She was born in Kuchaman, Rajasthan, at the residence of her maternal grandmother. Her family hailed from Rajasthan, but her father had settled in Akola, Maharashtra, and it was in Akola that Sarla grew up. She studied in a local government school, and the medium of instruction was Marathi. As a result, she grew fluent in that language, while retaining her native tongue, the Marwadi dialect of Hindi. English was taught at the school beginning from class six, and Sarla also learned the standard register of the Hindi language at this time. Sarla grew up amid a number of spoken languages, and this made it easy for her to pick up new tongues. In older age, she made decided to learn French as well.
On 28 March 2015, she was in Delhi to attend a function marking the 121st anniversary of GD Birla. She was injured in a minor accident involving her wheelchair and the lift and died as a result of old-age related heart failure. She was 91.

Philanthropy

She had made notable contributions through her social and institutional activities and took an active part in their working. She had been associated as governor, trustee, or in another manner with the following institutions:
Her collection of Indian art, including that on display at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture in Kolkata, ranks amongst India's notable private collections. The Sangit Kala Mandir, besides the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, were both set up by the couple.

Personal life

In April 1941, she married Basant Kumar Birla, the son of GD Birla, in an arranged marriage after having been introduced to each other by Jamnalal Bajaj and Mahatma Gandhi.
Sarala recalled:
Eventually after this marriage, Birla became the matriarch of a large family. They are sometimes referred to as the "first couple of Birla empire". They had a son, Aditya Vikram Birla, who died early in 1995.
Sarala was with her husband for 73 years. She was 91 years old, but it was a familiar sight to see her holding her husband's hand during family functions, and accompanying him to the annual general meetings of various group companies.