Pupul Jayakar

Pupul Jayakar was an Indian cultural activist and writer (1916-1997), who was a close friend and biographer to both the Nehru-Gandhi family and philosopher J Krishnamurti.

Background

She studied as a journalist in England before marrying and settling in Mumbai in 1937. She became politically involved after becoming assistant to Congress activist Mridula Sarabhai. In the late 1940's she became friends with J Krishnamurti and also became involved in the handloom industry, heading the Handicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation. In later years, on the request of her friend Indira Gandhi, she would found the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage [http://www.india-seminar.com/2004/540/540%20malvika%20singh.htm] . She was active with the Krishnamurti Foundation in India until her death.

Books

Her best known books are her two biographies "J. Krishnamurti: A Biography" (1988) and "Indira Gandhi: An Intimate Biography" (1992). In the latter, Jayakar reveals that her close friend Indira Gandhi had personally expressed to her a premonition of her death in the wake of the Operation Bluestar incident [http://www.sikhreview.org/august1994/analysis.htm] .