She was the only professional woman photojournalist between 1939 and 1970, as she survived the male-dominated field, making her presence more significant because of the codes of this profession that largely continue to exclude women even today.
Her striking images of the death of Gandhiji and the visits of international dignitaries such as Ho Chi Minh, Queen Elizabeth and Jackie Kennedy were stamped on public memory.
Born on December 9, 1913 to a Parsi family, Vyarawala grew up in Mumbai and moved to Delhi in 1942 where she photographed events leading to Independence, as an employee of the British Information Services.
Her husband Manekcshaw Vyarawala died in 1970.