Passion, Pages, Philanthropy

Saumya Saini

Passion, Pages, Philanthropy

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision is merely passing time. But vision and action together can change the world.”– Sudha Murthy

Sudha Murthy. Image Source: Jagran Josh

The walls of the patriarchal society have been directly challenged by women who have proved to be a force of nature. From excelling in various fields to being healthy parents to their children, women do it all, with many unconditionally supporting their partners as well. The world always felt threatened by fearless women, and now the contemporary era has seen a rise in independent women who speak for themselves more than ever.

On 19 August 1950, the world once again saw the birth of one such woman, ready to tackle society right from the get-go. She was named Sudha by her Deshastha Madhwa Brahmin family in Shiggaon, Haveri in Karnataka. The air surrounding their family was packed with passion, determination, and academia, and the moment anyone would enter their house, they would leave with a smile on their face.

Sudha’s courage perhaps originated from her mother, who ensured her children were given the best of education during a time when it was uncommon to do so. Instilling an atmosphere of dedication, she raised her children to be extraordinary from an early age and successfully did so.

Growing up, she was highly attached to her maternal grandparents, which is marvellously reflected in her highly relatable works.

Sudha excelled in everything she did right from her schooling and emerged as a topper during her Bachelor's and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science respectively. Apart from being naturally intelligent, she had a profound love for her field, and a determination to make her dreams come true of making a name for herself, a combination rarely found.

After completing her studies, our passionate young woman set out to find a job for herself, only to later realise the dominant gender discrimination and biases in her field. Tired of seeing women oppressed professionally and privately, she penned down a historic postcard to TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO), who until then had a policy of “male-only” employees.

Her words were so impactful, that TELCO hired her immediately, making her the first female engineer to ever be hired by this company.

During her tenure at TELCO, she married N. R.N. R. Narayana Murthy and went on to have two children with him. But her husband had greater plans ahead of him and knew that without his wife’s support, he wouldn’t be able to accomplish his dream of building the famous company we now know as Infosys.

Believe it or not, all this still doesn’t cover her multilayered story, for she is known for being a prolific writer in both English and Kannada. Through her fictional and autobiographical stories, Murthy channels her views on hospitality, charity, self-realization, women’s issues, and attachment to grandparents.

Her books such as Dollar Sose, How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and other stories and Wise and Otherwise are iconic tales written in a simple and easy-flowing language, attracting a large audience.

Her service to society and literary achievements haven’t gone unnoticed, for she has received a plethora of awards including the Padma Shri and R.K. Narayana's Award for Literature in 2006. Currently, she is a highly sought-after speaker and has publicly spoken in various panels and events.

We thank Sudha Murthy for being one of the legendary women to have paved the road for the success of future generations. Without souls like her, the world wouldn’t feel the same.

From her own savings, Murthy gave INR 10,000 to start Infosys, but her support weighed even greater, a debt which can never be repaid by her husband. She aided him throughout his failures and constantly ensured to remind him of his worth and capabilities. N. R. Narayana Murthy wouldn’t be the man he now is without his pillar of strength, which was Sudha. Talk about relationship goals!

However, Sudha was nowhere near her milestone achievements. It was her daughter who once asked her what she wanted from life, to which Murthy began thinking deeply about where her happiness lay. Soon, she realised, each individual had a responsibility towards society, and since she had the means of contributing much more than a common man, she launched herself into philanthropy.

In 1996, she established the Infosys Foundation, the non-profit wing of the company which aims at covering public hygiene, healthcare, education, art and culture, and poverty alleviation. Some of her contributions include building 7000 libraries in schools and 16,000 toilets. Her dedication to education is an unstoppable force even to this day.