Sarala Birla (23 November 1923 – 28 March 2015) was an Indian businesswoman and a prominent member of the

Birla family The Birla family is an Indian business family connected with the industrial and social history of India. Foundations The Birla family's origins trace to the Maheshwari community of Bania Vaishya traders. The family was outcasted in 1922 when ...

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 The followers of Mahatma Gandhi,one of the prominent figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environ ...

educationist and Congress Party worker Brijlal Biyani and his wife Savitri Devi Biyani. She was born in Kuchaman,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, at the residence of her maternal grandmother. Her family hailed from

, but her father had settled in

Akola Akola () is a major city in the Vidarbha region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The third largest city in Eastern Maharashtra after Nagpur and Amravati, it is located about east of the state capital, Mumbai, and west of the second ca ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, and it was in Akola that Sarla grew up. She studied in a local government school, and the medium of instruction was

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

. 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 (

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

) 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 Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

, or in another manner with the following institutions: *

Birla Institute of Technology and Science The Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) is a private deemed university in Pilani, Rajasthan, India. It focuses primarily on higher education and research in engineering and sciences. BITS Pilani was one of the first s ...

Pilani Pilani is a town located in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, India. The town is well known as the location of BITS Pilani. Demographics , Pilani has a population of 29,741 of which 51% are males and 49% females. The average literacy rate is ...

* BK Birla Institute of Engineering & Technology, Pilani * BK Birla College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Kalyan * BK Birla Public School, Kalyan * Mahadevi Birla World Academy *Mahadevi Birla Shishu Vihar *Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Calcutta *Swar Sangam, Calcutta *Sangit Kala Mandir, Calcutta *Sangit Kala Mandir Trust, Calcutta *Birla Bharati, Calcutta *Birla Vidya Niketan, Delhi,saket 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 Birla may refer to: * Birla family * Members of the Birla family: ** Aditya Vikram Birla ** Ananya Birla ** Basant Kumar Birla ** G. D. Birla ** K. K. Birla ** C. K. Birla ** Kumar Mangalam Birla See also * Burla (disambiguation) Burla may refe ...

, were both set up by the couple.

Personal life

In April 1941, she married

Basant Kumar Birla Basant Kumar Birla (12 January 1921 – 3 July 2019) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist of the Birla family. He was chairman of the Krishnarpan Charity Trust, BK Birla Institute of Engineering & Technology (BKBIET) and various e ...

, the son of GD Birla, in an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...

after having been introduced to each other by

Jamnalal Bajaj Jamnalal Kaniram Bajaj (4 November 1889 – 11 February 1942) was an Indian businessman and politician. He founded the Bajaj Group of companies in the 1920s, and the group now has 24 companies, including six that are listed on the bourses. H ...

and

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. Sarala recalled:The Story Of Basant And Sarala Birla, Aaj Tak, 5 April 2015
/ref> : "I was studying in Pune, Ferguson College, and I got a message that I have to go to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, to Birla house, to see the boy. I went there, I was there for one night and there were so many boys there, I did not know who was who; I stayed there and I came back. After two-three months, I got a call from Gandhiji and my father-in-law telling me to come to

Wardha Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The administrative headquarter of Wardha district is situated here. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows on the northern, western ...

. I went there from

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

and father (

Ghanshyam Das Birla Ghanshyam Das Birla (10 April 1894 – 11 June 1983) was an Indian businessman and member of the Birla Family. Birla family history Ghanshyam Das Birla was born on 10 April 1894 at Pilani town in Jhunjhunu district, in the region known as ...

) asked me, 'you have seen Basant and you have not yet replied whether you are ready to marry him or not.' I said, 'No, there were eight-ten boys, so I didn't know who was who.' Then I said that I won't marry a boy unless I see him and I know who he is. Gandhiji said, 'she is perfectly right,' and then he said that we will arrange a meeting between you-you please come again. So I said, 'when I have my holidays, only then will I come.'

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

was so nice, he said, 'alright.' So, when I had my holidays, I went, and we met on November 8." Eventually after this marriage, Birla became the matriarch of a large family. They are sometimes referred to as the "first couple of Birla empire".Unfolding the fascinating story of Birlas, Basant Kumar and Sarala Birla: Life Has No Full Stops released in Delhi, 9 September 2011
/ref> They had a son,

Aditya Vikram Birla Aditya Vikram Birla (14 November 1943 – 1 October 1995) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. Born into one of the largest business families of India, he oversaw the diversification of his group into textiles, petrochemicals and ...

, 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.Sarala Birla A businessman's wife, who won hearts with her humanity, ET Bureau, 30 March 2015
/ref>

References

External links

The Story Of Basant And Sarala Birla, Aaj Tak, 5 April 2015

The XII Science Assembly, Sarala Birla Academy, 20 June 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birla, Sarla Rajasthani people 1923 births Founders of Indian schools and colleges Indian women philanthropists 2015 deaths Sarla 20th-century Indian women educational theorists People from Nagaur district 20th-century Indian women scientists Businesspeople from Kolkata 20th-century Indian educational theorists Women scientists from West Bengal Women educators from West Bengal Educators from West Bengal 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian philanthropists 20th-century women philanthropists