The Grand Old Lady and India’s first woman photo-journalist Homai Vyarawalla passed away on the morning of January 15, 2012. Vyarawalla, 98, was admitted to a private hospital in Vadodara after she fell from her cot three days back.
Born on December 9, 1913 to a Parsi family, Vyarawalla had captured several moments in Indian history, including pre-Independent India. Some of the moments that she captured on her camera included a meeting where leaders voted for the June 3 plan for India’s partition; the first flag hoisting ceremony at Red Fort on August 15, 1947; the departure of Lord Mountbatten from India; and the funerals of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Vyarawalla was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan in January 2010.