The article posted below is for all the women in the world who have stood up and fought for their rights. I hope the story will encourage all the women who have taken the bold step to immigrate to Canada, in search of their dreams. May all your dreams come true !! All the best.



Ayaskant.

=====================================================

An Angry letter from a young lady made JRD Tata change
his rule

Sudha Murthy was livid when a job advertisement posted
by a Tata company at the institution where she was
completing her post graduation stated that \"Lady
candidates need not apply\". She dashed off a post card
to JRDTata, protesting against the discrimination.
Following this, Mrs
Murthy was called for an interview and she became
the first female engineer to work on the shop floor
at Telco (now Tata Motors). It was the beginning of
an association that would change her life in more ways
than one. \" THERE are two photographs that hang on my
office wall. Everyday when I enter my office I look at
them before starting my day. They are pictures of two
old people. One is of a gentleman in a blue suit and
the other one is a black and white image of a man with
dreamy eyes and a white beard. People have often asked
me if the people in the photographs are related to me.
Some have even asked me, \"Is this black and white
photo that of a Sufi saint or a religious Guru?\" I
smile and reply \"No, nor are they related to me. These
people made an impact on my life. I am grateful to
them.\"
\"Who are they?\" \"The man in the blue suit is Bharat
Ratna JRD Tata and
the black and white photo is of Jamsetji Tata.\" \"But
why do you have them in your office?\"\" You can call it
gratitude.\"

Then, invariably, I have to tell the person the
following story. It was a long time ago. I was young
and bright, bold and idealistic. I was in the final
year of my Master's course in Computer Science at the
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, then
known as the Tata Institute.
Life was full of fun and joy. I did not know what
helplessness or injustice meant.

It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was
getting warm and gulmohars were blooming at the IISc
campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduate
department and was staying at the ladies' hostel.
Other girls were pursuing research in different
departments of Science. I was looking forward to going
abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I
had been offered scholarships from Universities in the
US. I had not thought of taking up a job in India.

One day, while on the way to my hostel from our
lecture-hall complex, I saw an advertisement on the
notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice
from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata
Motors). It stated that the company required young,
bright engineers, hardworkingand 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
discrimination.

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 know then that a life having academic
excellence is not enough to be successful.

After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I
decided to inform the topmost 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 the company's chairman then).

I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started
writing. To this day
I remember clearly what I wrote. \"The great Tatas have
always been pioneers. They are the people who started
the basic infrastructure industries in India, such as
iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and
locomotives.They have cared for higher education in
India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and
locomotives. They have cared for highereducation in
India since 1900 and they were responsible for the
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
of gender.\"

I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10
days later, I received a telegram stating that I had
to appear for an interview at Telco's Pune facility at
the company's expense. I was taken
aback by the telegram. My hostel mated told me I
should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost
and buy them the famous Pune saris forcheap! I
collected Rs 30 each from everyone who wanted a sari.
When I look back, I feel like laughing at the reasons
for my going, but back then they seemedgood 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 Hubli,
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
realised then that this was serious business.

\"This is the girl who wrote to JRD,\" I heard somebody
whisper as soonas I entered the room. By then I knew
for sure that I would not get the job.The realisation
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 them, 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 attitude.

The panel asked me technical questions and I answered
all of them. Then an elderly gentleman with an
affectionate voice told me, \"Do you know why we 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. When 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
answered, \"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 what 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 realised who
JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I
was scared, but I did not get to meethim till I was
transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some
reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, 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 BombayHouse
called him.

I was feeling very nervous, 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 that
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 Murthy.\" He smiled and kindly
smile and started a discussion with SM.

As for me, I almost ran out of the room.
After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the
Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer.
There was nothing that we had in common. Iwas in awe
of him.

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
again I started worrying about that postcard.
Looking back,
I realise JRD had forgotten 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 simple white pant and shirt. He was
old, yet his face was glowing.
There wasn't any air of superiority about him. I was
thinking, \"Look at this person. He is a chairman, a
well-respected man in our country and he is waiting
for the sake of an ordinary employee.\"

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 coming down the steps of Bombay
House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw
JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to
say goodbye to him, so I stopped. Hesaw me and paused.


Gently, he said, \"So what are you doing, Mrs
Kulkarni?\" (That was the way he always addressed me.)
\"Sir, I am leaving Telco.\" \"Where are you going?\" he
asked. \"Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company
called 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 successful you
must give back to society. Society
gives us so much; we must reciprocate. I wish you all
the best.\"
Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood
there for what seemed like a millennium. 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 he's not alive to see
you today.\"

I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an
extremely busy person, he valued one postcard written
by a young girl seeking justice. He must have received
thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown
mine away, but he didn't do that. He respected the
intentions of thatunknown girl, who had neither
influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in
his company. He did not merely give 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 changes 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 grown. 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 eyes always
reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and
magnificence.\"

Thank you

Sudha

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Success

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded. Bessie Stanley

Quote:

---

Orginally posted by ayaskant

"Oh! Andwhat 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.

---

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Quote:

---

Orginally posted by jake3d

Quote:

---

Orginally posted by ayaskant

"Oh! Andwhat 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.

---

Wow! That is a keeper.

Nice post and truly inspiring.

---

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

Chandresh,

Success is a relative term. Let me justify this statement. When I came to Bangalore in 1997, I was drawing a salary of Rs.8000/- and my wife was searching for a job. We were very happy and had less worries. Today, we draw a combined salary of Rs.60,000. We have a baby girl and our needs / wants have skyrocketed. We employ a chauffeur, a baysitter and a cook who also washes clothes and cleans the house. Since both of us work, we come home tired and hardly spend quality time with each other. Further, we check our mails at night and sometimes work from home to meet office deadlines.

I look back at 1998, with nostalgia. I feel, \" Those were good times.\" So, I feel that success has a price. Now you tell me whether success / happiness can be measured. In my opinion, it is all in the mind. So, keep the faith and a day will come when you can share your success with your near and dear ones.



Ayaskant.

Quote:

---

Orginally posted by chandresh

Quote:

---

Orginally posted by jake3d

Quote:

---

Orginally posted by ayaskant

\"Oh! Andwhat 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.

---

Wow! That is a keeper.

Nice post and truly inspiring.

---

I was asked the same question \"what will you do when you are successful\" when I was leaving to finally settle in Canada.

Since I was very cofident at that time, and full of zeal and enthusiasm, my reply was \" I will call you all to share the fruits of success with me since without your best wishes and guidance it would not be possible\"

I am still waiting for the day when I can say to those dear ones of mine - 'yes, now I am settled in Canada and waiting for you to come over to visit me\" - the sharing of success is ..........??? Not bleak but seems blurred at the momment!

But I still have confidence and hope!

Chandresh

---

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Success

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded. Bessie Stanley

You are absolutely right - success is a relative term.

I shared it a lot with my near and dear ones BEFORE coming to Canada! Yes, to many, I was really successful then.

Well, still I am young, so will have enough time to do it all over again!

Chandresh

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

Moral of the story :-

IISc is hallowed ground for all Indians (umm yours truly also !).

BTW, just a question folks..anyone here whose alma matr is IISc ?

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Hello Ayaskant

Its posts like these which make coming to this site worth it. Thank you

Regards

SF