KBC Throwback: When Sudha Murty talked about her 'complaint' to JRD Tata, called herself 'low maintenance wife' and more
Sudha Murty has always been very candid in her chats on public platforms. A few years ago she appeared on the Amitabh Bachchan hosted show Kaun Banega Crorepati where she made several revelations about her personal and professional life. It included her complaint to JRD Tata in a letter and giving Rs 10,000 to her husband to start Infosys.
Sudha Murty on joining engineering college
Sudha Murty revealed on KBC that her decision to do engineering in 1968 was not welcomed by her family. They thought no one in their community would marry her if she did the course that mainly had boys.
Principal placed conditions before she joined
Since she scored well in the entrance, Sudha shared that the Principal of the college couldn't refuse her admission. Her class had 599 boys. She was asked to wear a sari and advised not to go to the college canteen or talk to the boys. However, it was when she topped the first year that boys began to initiate conversations with her.
When she faced difficulties with the toilets
Sudha Murty was candid in sharing that her main problem at the college was toilets which were not accessible. Hence, after she became the Chairman of Infosys Foundation, she got 16,000 toilets built.
Giving her husband Rs 10,000 from her savings
Sudha Murty shared on the show that it was on her mother's advice that she would save money without telling her husband. It was for the rainy days. However, when her husband decided to start the company, she gave him Rs 10,000 and three years to build it. In the course of her conversation with Big B, she even called herself a 'low maintenance wife'.
Postcard to JRD Tata complaining about a vacancy where women couldn't apply
Even though Sudha Murty wanted to go to America in 1976 while she was in the last year of M.Tech, she came across a vacancy in Tata Telco where ladies were not allowed to apply. She wrote a postcard to JRD Tata Telco, Mumbai complaining about the same. She didn't expect to get a reply and be called for an interview. She ended up getting the job.
Father's precious advice to Sudha Murty
While she had the job offer, Sudha Murty wanted to take up the scholarship. However, her father told her to pick the job if she wanted to fight for equality of women in the country Sudha Murty became the first woman who was appointed in a Telco.
Social work done by Sudha Murty
Following the advice of JRD Tata who said she must give back to society when she becomes rich, she tried to solve Devadasi problems in villages and helped empower these women. She looks after girls in villages and encourages them to work in her company as software engineers.