It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only and was staying at the ladies' hostel. Other ferent departments of Science. I was looking a doctorate in computer science. I had been ies in the US... I had not thought of taking was getting warm and gulmohars were girl in my postgraduate department girls were pursuing research in dif forward to going abroad to complete offered scholarships from Universit up a job in India. One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I saw an a dvertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors)... It stated that the comp any required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc. At the bottom was a small line: 'Lady Candidates need not apply.' I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up against gender discrimina tion. Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in academics, better than most of my male peers... Little did I k now then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful? After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform the topmo st person in Telco's management about the injustice the company was perpetrating . I got a postcard and started to write, but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was th e company's chairman then) I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started writ ing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote. 'The great Tatas have always b een pioneers. They are the people who started the basic infrastructure industrie s in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives they hav e cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for t he establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis o f gender.' I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a t elegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco's Pune facility a t the company's expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famo us Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs30 each from everyone who wanted a sari w hen I look back, I feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip. It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city. To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hub li, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways. As directed, I went to Telco's Pimpri office for the interview. There were six people on the panel and I realized then that this was serious bus iness. 'This is the girl who wrote to JRD,' I heard somebody whisper as soon as I enter ed the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realizati on abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while the interview was being conducted. Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told th em, rather impolitely, 'I hope this is only a technical interview.' They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attit ude. The panel asked me technical questions and I answered a ll of them. Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, 'Do you know why w e said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory. W hen it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that , but people like you should work in research laboratories. I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place. I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I a nswered, 'But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories.' Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was w hat the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married. It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was t ransferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our c hairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw 'appro JRD'. Appro means 'our' in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him. I was feeling very nervo us, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, 'Jeh (that's what his close associates called him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate. She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor.' JRD looked at me. I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard t hat preceded it). Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, he remarked. 'It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?' 'When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir,' I replied. 'Now I am Sudha Murt hy.' He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I a lmost ran out of the room. After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I wa s merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of h im. One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet a gain I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realize JRD had for gotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me. 'Young lady, why are you here?' he asked. 'Office time is over.' I said, 'Sir, I 'm waiting for my husband to come and pick me up.' JRD said, 'It is getting dark and there's no one in the corridor. I'll wait with you till your husband comes.' I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely uncomfortable. I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a te pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn't superiority about him. I was thinking, 'Look at this person. He is a a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of y employee.' simple whi any air of chairman, an ordinar Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, 'Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again.' In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was comin g down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I sa w JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused. Gently, he said, 'So what are you doing, Mrs. Kulkarni?' (That was the way he al ways addressed me.) 'Sir, I am leaving Telco.' 'Where are you going?' he asked. 'Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company ca lled Infosys and I'm shifting to Pune.' 'Oh! And what will you do when you are successful.' 'Sir, I don't know whether we will be successful.' 'Never start with diffidence, ' he advised me 'Always start with confidence. When you are success ful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate . Wish you all the best.' Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a m illennium. That was the last time I saw him alive. Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, 'It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that h e's not alive to see you today.' I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he v alued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice. He must have receive d thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn't d o that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influe nce nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely giv e her a job; he changed her life and mindset forever. Close to 50 per cent of the students in today's engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments. I see these cha nges and I think of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has g rown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly. My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of his employees. Those blue e yes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and magnificence. (Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairp erson of the Infosys Foundation involved in a number of social development initi atives. Infosys chairman Narayana Murthy is her husband.) Article sourced from: Lasting Legacies (Tata Review- Special Commemorative Issue 2004), brought out by the house of Tatas to commemorate the 100th birth anniver sary of JRD Tata on July 29, 2004 . Sudha Murthy and Narayana Murthy Comment · LikeUnlike · Share * * 539 people like this. * 50 of 229 * o Murali Krishna Gud n worth spending time to read.. 8 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Aditya Magotra awesome......... 8 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Smruti Ranjan Patanaik that is how great men are made up of .... tru ly JRD is the one to salute for the sugar in the indian sub continent 8 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Gaurav Paliwal Soar in high skies.. bt walk with firm steps on d gro und.. thts wt i got frm ths..! nthng is impossible for a determined will..! 8 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Brindavan Mohanty awesum.. 8 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Kumar Vimal worth reading..?:)? ------------------------I've added smileys to this comment. Wanna see them? Go to http://c.f acicons.com/ ......................... 7 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Gaurav Pant wonderful.... 7 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Praveen Kumar a masterpiece! 7 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Rakshit Patnana inspiring!!!!!!!!!!!! 7 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Shyamsundar Dara really awesome!!!!! 7 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Sahithya Reddy truly inspiring...!! amazed by their simplicity and p oised attitude... 6 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Vivek Diwedi hey who the hell She is and who the hell is j.why you g uys get inspired by anything.on fb everything is excelent or superb? 6 hours ago via Facebook Mobile · LikeUnlike · o Dileep Nackathaya ?:) 6 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Karthik Ravichandran Truly inspirational i shud say !! :) ,,,, it de finitely is !! :) 5 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Isha Homkar JRD Tata believed on the surmise that if the country gro ws by the grace of God and countrymen... the Tata Empire is bound to grow. He wa s a true trustee in whose hands the building of India was handed over by God Alm ighty. He fulfilled his dream of building a strong infrastructure for the countr y in his lifetime. 5 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Sunil Ratnu truly inspiring....... 5 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Harshavardhan Gowda encouraging thought!!!!! 4 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Divya Solanki simply great and inspirational. even stones can get in spiration from this... 4 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Amruta Khot This is the stuff legends are made of...!!! 4 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Rahul Ritesh mesmerised!!! legendary people, legendary thinking 4 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Chandrashekhar Gade Extremly good article.i wish you be like Sudha M urthy.It is motivating & also describes the greatness of JRD. 3 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Sujesh Menon Its such a great story! 3 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Guna Sekaran Awesome... Really mind blowing :) ------------------------I've added smileys to this comment. Wanna see them? Go to http://c.f acicons.com/ ......................... 3 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Mahesh Prince OTHER NAMES OF TATA FAMILY IS PATRIOTS 2 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Mayuri Mukherjee its jst superb............... 2 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Surya Kant Sahoo superb stuff with grt morale 2 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Manoj Krishnan this is one of the best life history in the world...t his will give confidence to all women 2 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Saurabh Bargaway Salute to JRD .... and his encouraging thoughts..!! ! 2 hours ago · LikeUnlike · o Harish N Ramakrishnan Great article. about an hour ago · LikeUnlike · o Vivek Singh thts what pioneers r made of...nice one about an hour ago · LikeUnlike · o Alekhya Kiran simply supereb...!@!! about an hour ago · LikeUnlike · o Anurag Jindal grt story..!! about an hour ago · LikeUnlike · o Prabhat Singal Simply Amazing... about an hour ago · LikeUnlike · 1 personLoading... · o Harish Sb look at the number of likes. it tells the story :) about an hour ago · LikeUnlike · o Anu Agarwal superb about an hour ago · LikeUnlike · o Amit Kumar after readin dis +ve vibes hav automatically started cumn g out of me!! Dis is awesum & truly an inspirational one! 58 minutes ago via Facebook Mobile · LikeUnlike · o Prashant Shelke yes, really an inspirational incident !! 55 minutes ago via Facebook Mobile · LikeUnlike · o Franklin Joseph wow that was refreshing...really awesome.... 54 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Harini Praturi great one..very inspirational 50 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Salomi Sahu xtremelyyyyyyyyyyyyy inspiringggggggg 49 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Julie Thomas Simp,ly reading such write ups and articles give u an e mpowered feeling!!! 49 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Rashmi Barbara Gayan simply worth reading....... 46 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Sushant Kondguli I had read this one earlier in on of Her books but everytime I read this I find something new in it .... Refreshing and Motivating :) 38 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Sunil Mishra Nitesh, thanks a ton to share such beautiful acticle, g enuinely thank u very much... 33 minutes ago via Facebook Mobile · LikeUnlike · o Sudip Das ohhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!really awsm 30 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Satish Jantli I enjoyed reading this.... 25 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Upendra Dhar It is Incredible & can only happen In our beautifull In dia, Revealing this is just as great. Hats off to Tata's & Infosys. 13 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Ashok Yadav Good one to start your morning with 10 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Shailesh Thackeray JRD truly was a great person. My father had worke d in Air-India for over 20 years and once he recounted a story about JRD's great ness. Years ago an Air-India plane had an accident at Santacruz airport with its wheels stuck in mud at around 2 am. JRD had rushed to the airport in his pyjama s and slippers on being informed about the accident. Such was his down to earth personality. 8 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · o Gaurav Talukdar i rly rly njyd... 7 minutes ago · LikeUnlike · * Write a comment...