A presentation on sudha murty and her work with devdasies

BIograpghy on sudha murty

1. Life Of An Ordinary Person

2. Introduction She is an ordinary person with an extraordinary life, who is also a mother, author, philanthropist and entrepreneur. She has achieved great things and serves as an inspiration to many. Her life’s work is a powerful testimony of determination, kindness and how the power of words can change the world. She has taken on austerity and embraced it. Her name is Sudha Murty.

3. About Her “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision is merely passing time. But vision and action together can change the world.” – Sudha Murty Sudha Murty is the chairperson of Infosys Foundation and married to Narayana Murty, co-founder of Infosys, the 4th biggest company in India. She is also a movie buff. She was born on August 19, 1950, in Shiggaon , Karnataka, India. Her mother Vimala Kulkarni was a school teacher and her father R.H. Kulkarni was a doctor. She completed her Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Basappa Veerappa Bhoomaraddi College of Engineering and Technology (B.V.B ) in Hubli, a medium-sized town in the state of Karnataka, India, where she stood first in her class and received a Gold Medal from the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

4. In those days, engineering was an all-male domain and hence taboo for girls. She was the only female student in an engineering college. The lack of ladies' toilets on campus, eventually led her to build more than 13000 toilets in Karnataka alone! She later completed her master's programme in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Again, she stood first in her class and received a gold medal from the Indian Institute of Engineers.

5. An Interesting Story There is an interesting story behind her hiring in Tata Motors, also known as TELCO. One day, She came across a vacancy advertisement of TELCO that explicitly stated "Female candidates need not apply" in the footnote. So she wrote a postcard to JDR Tata, chairman of TELCO, regarding gender discrimination in the company. Sudha Murty with TELCO

6. Soon she got a call for the interview and became the first female engineer hired at India’s largest automobile manufacturer TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO). “With my experience in life, I want to tell you that having good relationships, compassion and peace of mind is much more important than achievements, awards, degrees or money.” - Sudha Murty

7. INFOSYS FOUNDATION “Life is an exam where the syllabus is unknown and question papers are not set. Nor are there model answer papers.” In 1996, the Infosys Foundation was instituted to fulfil the social responsibilities of Infosys Limited. Sudha Murty was one of its first trustees. The idea was to provide compassionate aid regardless of caste, creed, language or religion. The foundation aimed to face issues of malnutrition, education, access to medicine, rural development, self-sufficiency, cultural activities, revival of the arts and destitute care.

8. This Public Charitable Trust has helped in building more than 2,300 houses in flood-affected areas and more than 70,000 libraries for schools in India. Her trust has built more than 18,000 public toilets in an effort to encourage cleanliness in our country. This non-profit organization is funded by Infosys and led by Sudha Murty. A photograph of Droupadi Murmu  presenting the  Padma Bhushan  Award to Sudha Murthy in 2023.

9. The Very First Project The first chapter of the book Three Thousand Stitches is also the very first project of Sudha Murty in the Infosys foundation. The chapter begins with the setting up of the Infosys Foundation in 1996. There were many issues in front of the foundation, one of them was to address the Devadasi Tradition. The word “devadasi” means “servant of the Lord.” Traditionally, devadasis were musicians and dancers who served a deity or a temple for the rest of their lives. They had a high status in society. But things eventually changed. A s the book read, I quote: “...however, as time went by, the temples were destroyed and the tradition of the devadasis fell into the wrong hands... the word devadasi became synonymous with sex worker.” A photograph of two devadasis in Chennai, India in 1920s.

10. Sudha Murthy, with the help of the foundation, worked to change the lives of thousands of devadasis for the better. In 1996, she went to northern Karnataka where the practice of devadasi tradition was prevalent . The start was not easy at all for her . Devadasis considered her an outsider and didn’t want to talk to her. On her first two attempts, devadasis chased her away by throwing chappals and tomatoes at her. Months went by. It took her three years to establish a relationship with them. She became their darling akka or ‘elder sister’. They trusted her enough to share their heart-touching stories.

11. Fast-forward seventeen years, now they are more independent and bold than ever. More than 3,000 once-devadasis collectively, with the efforts of the foundation— Started an organization to support each other. Over time, small schools were established that offered night classes to the devadasis. They s tarted a small bank and disbursed loans with minimal interest rates. Many started doing different jobs to supplement their incomes like rearing cows and buffaloes As a result, slowly but steadily, they got out of the (traditional) vicious devadasi system they were in. Most of their children have now become doctors, lawyers, nurses, clerks and teachers. On the third anniversary of the small bank that they’d set up, they invited Sudha and collectively gifted her a bedspread.  They all had stitched some portion of it, hence three thousand stitches.

12. “An old devadasis climbed up the stage and stood their proudly. She said ‘We want to give our akka a special gift. It is an embroidered bedspread and each of us has stitched some portion of it. So there are three thousand stitches. Sudha has been working with them for more than 20 years now.

13. Awards and Recognition Raja-Lakshmi Award (2004)   Padam Shri (2006) 📚 R .K. Narayan’s Award for life literature (2006)  📖 Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award (2010) 🌟 Honorary LL.D. (Doctor of Laws) degrees from several universities 🎓 Basava Shree 2013 Award 🏅 Crossword Book Award (2018) 📚 Honorary Degree (Honoris Causa) of Doctor of Science from IIT Kanpur (2019) 🎓 Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar (2023) 📜 Padam Bhushan (2023) 🎖️ The Global Indian Award (2023) A. P. J. Abdul Kalam  presenting the  Padma Shri  Award to Sudha Murthy in 2006.

14. Basava Shree-2013 Award was presented to Narayan Murthy & Sudha Murthy for their contributions to society in 2013. Sudha Murthy receiving the Raja Lakshmi Award in 2004.

15. An Author Sudha is an avid book lover and a prolific Indian author. She has written several books in Kannada and English languages, with some being fiction and others based on her real-life experiences. Her books are popular for their simple and relatable writing style. A few of her notable works in literature include: Wise and Otherwise Dollar Bahu How I taught My Grandmother to Read The Mother I Never Knew Gently Fall the Bakula House of Cards The Serpents Revenge Mahashweta And many more

16. In Conclusion “If you try to please everyone, you will please no one. It is impossible to lead your life for others’ happiness.” Just like the story of Three Thousand Stitches, there are many other stories depicting the tenacity and courage of Sudha Murty that touched the lives of others. Her significant contribution to the betterment of society has had a meaningful impact on the lives of thousands. It is admirable to see her carry out selflessness and austerity in the everyday struggles and victories, large and small.

17. Resources Three Thousand Stitches- by Sudha Murty https://newsable.asianetnews.com/karnataka/3000-devadasis-get-aid-from-infosys-foundation Wikipédia https://prezi.com/p/kfjbuxmjutzi/sudha-murthy-ppt/ https://leverageedu.com/blog/sudha-murthy/ https://knoweldgehub.com/sudha-murthy/ Time of India (TOI.com) https://newsable.asianetnews.com/karnataka/3000-devadasis-get-aid-from-infosys-foundation https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/sudha-murty-biography-1597851867-1

18. THANK YOU