Author-philanthropist and Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murty recently recounted the story of receiving an unexpected call from former President APJ Abdul Kalam. She initially thought it was a mistake. Though she assumed the call was intended for her husband Narayana Murthy, APJ Abdul Kalam had actually called her to laud one of her pieces published in a popular daily. She took to her official X account and tweeted a photo of Kalam presenting her Padma Shri award in 2006.
The former Infosys Foundation chairwoman posted an excerpt of the conversation, recorded on the show. Sudha Murty claimed she received a call one day informing her that Abdul Kalam wished to talk with her.
Murty, believing she had nothing to do with Abdul Kalam, informed the operator that it appeared to be the “wrong number” and that there may have been a “mistake.”
She informed the operator that you had connected to Mrs Murty rather than Mr Murthy since she thought the call must have been for Narayana Murthy.
Sudha Murty was later informed that Abdul Kalam had “specifically” indicated his wish to talk to her. “I got worried and wondered what have I done to receive a call from Abdul Kalam,” she said.
She revealed that Abdul Kalam had called to praise one of her columns. “He said he read my column on ‘IT divide’ and said he really loved it and it’s a fantastic column. He said he always reads my columns,” she added.
Once I received a call from Mr. Abdul Kalam, who told me that he reads my columns and enjoys them. pic.twitter.com/SWEQ6zfeu4— Smt. Sudha Murty (@SmtSudhaMurty) June 25, 2024
The post has more than 21,000 views on the social media platform.
Money Control reports that Sudha Murty elaborated on her inspiration for the article, stating that she was once in a store purchasing mangoes that the seller had claimed were for Rs 100 a dozen.
However, when a student of hers, a software engineer at Infosys, requested to purchase those exact mangoes, she was asked to pay Rs 200 per dozen.
When she questioned the merchant, he supposedly stated that Murty was a “school teacher” and that she would not understand.
The shopkeeper claimed that the second individual was an IT specialist employed by Infosys, a major corporation. “That’s why it’s Rs 200 for her.”
Known for her contributions to Kannada and English writing, Murty is the author of many novels, the majority of which are geared towards children.
She has received three honours: the Padma Bhushan (2023), the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar and the Padma Shri (2006).
Comments
0 comment