Sudha Murthy: A Glimpse into the Extraordinary Journey

Priyanka Chopra, Miss Universe 2000, in one of her interviews said that good girls don’t make history, bold girls do. This was thought-provoking and also very true. It instantly reminded me of Sudha Murthy and her tryst with societal norms.

Recently Sudha Murthy was honored with the highest civilian honor, Padma Vibhushan, in India. She is the chairwoman of the Infosys Foundation. She is also credited for founding Infosys with her husband Narayana Murthy. Her life is a saga of struggles, of consistently fighting against prejudices, of being bold and brave, and of outright rebellions.

Daughter of a doctor father and a school teacher mother, Sudha was given the finest education. She excelled in her studies. Her interest lay in Applied Sciences. All hell broke loose when she declared that she wanted to be an engineer, a field predominantly considered male. Everyone in her family tried to persuade her to give up engineering. She was given alternative career options of being a doctor, teacher & professor.

As a student of History Sudha studied Si-Yu-Ki, a book written by the ancient Chinese, traveler Huen Tsang. Before Tang’s travel to India, everybody discouraged him from making the journey on foot but he refused to listen and decided to go. In time, he became famous for his 17-year-long journey to India. Taking a cue from Tsang’s courage and determination Sudha Stuck with her choice and was ready to face the consequences that came with it.

At last her father agreed and she applied to B.V.B. College of Engineering, now known as K.L.E. Technological University. Out of the 600 students, she was the only female student. She was asked to follow three conditions: (1) she had to wear a saree, (2) she was not allowed to enter the canteen, and (3) no talking with male students. All these conditions were readily accepted by Sudha. She was undeterred by them. But what bothered her was that there was no ladies’ toilet in her college. She remembered this painful experience. She understood the difficulty faced by many Indian women due to insufficiency or sheer absence of toilets. Later, as a member of the Infosys foundation, she got 16 thousand toilets built in Karnataka, alone.

Being the only female student did not bother Sudha, She put her heart and soul into her studies and topped the semester exam. She was completely focused and determined to achieve her goal. She shared some of her life lessons about the value of keeping a sense of perspective, the importance of taking it easy now and then, and being a good sport. She realized the need to be independent early in life.

She challenged the deep-rooted prejudices against women. During that time, for women to hold higher qualifications than the average man was considered not a wife-like quality to possess. But she continued to slam the stereotypes and challenged the patriarchial system She has withstood the test of time and come out victorious. Her life in itself is an Inspiration for many.

Author Nidhi Raj is an independent writing professional, storyteller, and mother with a keen interest in women’s issues and International Relations.