Rakhi Sarkar was born on 22nd August 1947 in Uttar Pradesh, India. She attained her BSc (Hons) from Presidency College, Calcutta and for her postgraduate degree, she went to Port of Spain, Trinidad, where she studied International Relations.

Rakhi has been the Chairperson of Citizen Action Forum under the auspices of Indian Chamber of Commerce, Calcutta, where she has planned and implemented several social projects. She then went on to set up ‘Combat’, an international substance abuse prevention cell, and coordinated forty voluntary groups and agencies working in the field.

In 1993, Rakhi set up CIMA – Centre of International Modern Art, where she is the curator and director. She has organized nearly one hundred exhibitions including major traveling exhibitions to London, Singapore and throughout India. She is involved actively in publishing books on art and promoting Indian art.

In 2003, she started the Art & Heritage Foundation, and also assumed trusteeship over Kolkata Museum of Modern Art in association with the Government of West Bengal and the Government of India. This centre is slated to be one of the premier institutes of modern and contemporary art in Asia. Most recently, Rakhi has launched CIMA Design, to help craftsmen and artisans.

Rakhi has travelled extensively throughout North America, Europe, Russia, Armenia, Latvia, Uzbekisthan, China, Australia and the Far East. She is married to media moghul Aveek Sarkar and they have two daughters.