Lasting Legacies
by
Sudha Murthy
(Let's Discover English)
Savour the Flavour
Comprehension
1. Find the matching pairs.
=
|
a. Sumant Moolgaokar. |
Telco’s Pune Office. [d] |
|
b. Jeh. |
Indian Institute of Science. [e] |
|
c. Bombay House. |
Tata Motors. [f] |
|
d. Pimpri. |
JRD Tata. [b] |
|
e. Tata Institute of Science. |
Chairman of Telco. [a] |
|
f. Telco. |
Tata Headquarters. [c] |
2. Complete each sentence by ticking the answer that makes the most sense.
a. Sudha Murthy was sure of going abroad, so...
[ ] she had not thought of taking up a job in India.
[ ] many universities offered her scholarships.
[✓] she also decided to pursue a doctorate in computer science.
b. Sudha Murthy was given the job at Telco because...
[ ] she had complained about gender bias to JRD Tata.
[✓] the organization wanted to prove that they were not gender biased.
[ ] she answered all the technical questions successfully.
c. When Sudha met JRD for the first time, she was nervous...
[ ] for he was the uncrowned king of Indian industry.
[✓] as she remembered the postcard episode.
[ ] thinking he would ask questions about her interview.
d. Sudha Murthy resigned from her job because...
[ ] she was keen to work as a writer and social worker.
[ ] she was planning to move out of Bombay.
[✓] her husband was setting up his own company in Pune.
Refer to the Context
Comprehension
Answer the following question.
"Oh! And what you will do when you are successful?"
i. Name the speaker. To whom was the question asked?
= The speaker is JRD Tata.
The question was asked to Sudha Murthy.
ii. When did the speaker make this query?
= The speaker made this query when she was leaving Telco rather resigning from her job at that company.
iii. What was the listener's response to this query?
= The listener replied that she was not sure of their success. She did not know whether they(she and her husband) will be successful or not.
iv. What was the advise given by the speaker to the listener? Explain in your own words.
= The speaker advised her not to star with dilemma. Rather she should start with confidence. This is the key to be successful. And once she becomes successful, she should do something for the society. This is because the society gives us so much that we should reciprocate. The speaker also wishes her for her forthcoming future.
Think and Discuss
HOTS
1. Sudha Murthy says that she is grateful to the Tatas for the impact that they have made on her life. Enumerate the various reasons for her acknowledgement.
= The Tatas impacted the life in a great way. They hired her going beyond their advertisement rules. They gave her job in Telco. She was the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor. She had been appreciated by the great JRD Tata for getting into engineering in India at that time. JRD Tata himself used to stay at the office till her husband came to pick her up from the office as it used to get dark and there were no one in the office corridor. He suggested her to be confident to start a company and not to forget to do something for the society after being successful.
2. Sudha Murthy says that despite being an extremely busy person, JRD valued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice. How do such small acts magnify into great decisions? Discuss in your group.
= JRD Tata valued one postcard written by Sudha Murthy seeking justice. He asked his company personnel to let her appear before the interview board. And eventually she got the job. This small acts definitely magnify into great decisions. JRD Tata broke the stereotype of not letting girls work in factories at that time. He respected the intentions of Sudha Murthy who had neither influence nor money and gave her opportunity in his company.
3. Though a highly qualified engineer, Sudha Murthy chose to involve herself in taking up social development work in villages and small towns. Give your opinion on her decision.
= Inspired by the words of the great JRD Tata, Sudha Murthy chose to involve herself in taking up social development work in villages and small towns. We must reciprocate to the many good things society give us. JRD Tata not merely gave her a job, rather he changed her life and mindset. She is a balanced intellect with emotional and social responsibilities. This is the sign of a great and grounded personality.
About the Author :
Born on 19 August 1950 in the small town of Shiggaon in north Karnataka, Sudha Murthy has been a trailblazer since childhood. The daughter of a well-known surgeon and the second of four siblings, she performed excellently through school and engineering college, always securing first position. Interestingly, she also made sure that she taught her uneducated grandmother to read and write. It is perhaps this balancing of intellect with emotional and social responsibility that has helped her to make a mark as widely published writer-novelist, social worker, and lecturer, though she started her professional career initially as the first woman to work on the shop floor of Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company, then a male bastion. Her other credentials are that she is the wife of Narayan Murthy, the founder member of Infosys, who set up the company by borrowing her savings of ₹10,000.