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Sunitha Krishnan’s fight against sex slavery (by TEDtalksDirector)

Sunitha Krishnan has dedicated her life to rescuing women and children from sex slavery, a multimilion-dollar global market. In this courageous talk, she tells three powerful stories, as well as her own, and calls for a more humane approach to helping these young victims rebuild their lives.

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hai

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, 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 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 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 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 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 mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs30 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 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 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 realized then that this was serious business. 

‘This is the girl who wrote to JRD,’ I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realization 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.’ 

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— ShashiTharoor

Down memory lane

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069791&id=1187622538&l=db6bc7382d

Infosys Technologies is one of the few Indian companies that has changed the way the world looks at India.

No longer is India a land of snake charmers and beggars. It is now perceived as an economic giant to reckon with, bursting with brilliant software engineers and ambitious entrepreneurs. And Infosys is an symbol of India’s information technology glory.

Infosys has many firsts to its name: The first Indian firm to list on Nasdaq; the first to offer stock options to its employees… The company crossed $1 billion in revenues for the first time in 2004. TCS, however, was the first Indian IT firm to top $1-bn in revenues.

Infosys is an organisation that inspires awe and respect, globally. On July 2, Infosys completed 25 years in existence. This is its amazing success story, illustrated by rare photographs.

How Infosys was born

The idea of Infosys was born on a morning in January 1981. That fateful day, N R Narayana Murthy and six software engineers sat in his apartment debating how they could create a company to write software codes.

Six months later, Infosys was registered as a private limited company on July 2, 1981. Infosys co-founder N S Raghavan’s house in Matunga, northcentral Mumbai, was its registered office. It was then known as Infosys Consultants Pvt Ltd.

What was the company’s starting capital?

US $250. Murthy borrowed $250 from his wife Sudha to start the company. The front room of Murthy’s home was Infosys’ first office, although the registered office was Raghavan’s home.

Who were Murthy’s six friends who joined hands to launch Infosys?

Nandan Nilekani, N S Raghavan, S Gopalakrishnan, S D Shibulal, K Dinesh and Ashok Arora.

Are all of them still the founding directors?

Murthy is currently chief mentor and chairman while Nilekani is the chief executive officer and managing director. Gopalakrishnan, Shibulal and Dinesh are directors. Raghavan retired as joint managing director in 2000. He is currently the chairman of the advisory council of the N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

Ashok Arora worked for the company till 1988 and left after selling his shares in the then unlisted company back to the other promoters. He moved to the United States where he now works as a consultant.

‘Murthy was always broke’

‘Murthy was always broke. He always owed me money. We used to go for dinner and he would say, ‘I don’t have money with me, you pay my share, will return it to you later.’ For three years, I maintained a book of Murthy’s debts to me. No, he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after our wedding. The amount was a little over Rs 4,000.’ 
— An excerpt from Sudha Murthy’s reminiscences. She is the wife of Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy.

Those days, Murthy wanted to do something with his life, but he had no money. Murthy was married to Sudha on February 10, 1978, while he was working with Patni Computers.

In 1981, it was Murthy’s idea to start Infosys. Murthy had a dream, and no money. So Sudha gave him Rs 10,000, which she had saved without his knowledge. Murthy and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981.

No, it was not in Bangalore, but in Pune that Infosys set up its first office, in 1981. The house that Murthy and Sudha bought with a loan became the first Infosys office. As Murthy ran Infosys, Sudha took up a job as a systems analyst with the Walchand Group of Industries to support their household.

In 1983, Infosys moved to Bangalore when it got its first client, Data Basics Corporation from the United States.

The first mini computer arrived at Infosys in 1983. It was a Data General 32-bit MV8000. The very next year Infosys switched from mini to main frames with a CAMP application for a Data Basics customer.

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There is always news, but the latest hot one is our national highway widening. I il come up with my views. But before that read my fellow author’s article from tvmrising blog, Must read … http://tvmrising.blogspot.com/2010/04/roads-to-nowhere.html

Hai this is an interesting development in entrepreneur world, Juz have a look and try it out. From my fellow author …

entrepreneuradvocate:

Here is a drawing we’re doing for the Social Need Network landing page. An idea that started as a concept for a series of web episodes about social entrepreneurs, has quickly morphed into another model as we saw the opportunity to solve a problem and provide value to both parties involved.

We’ll have the landing page up tomorrow and we’ll be talking more about this project as we develop it. 

Looking at our current society ! i wonder y all these people run with out thinking where they heading to .

MK Bhadrakumar abut ST, Former External affairs minister …. #supporttharoor http://tinyurl.com/2ds2hw2

“Former External affairs minister Dr.Sashi Tharoor got immense support from netizens” - Major medias including Times, rediff, Economic times reported. But one thing to get notice is, if 18000+ pledges collected by supporttharoor.org (a website made by his supporters and friends) how many people loves and supports him in their mind, who doesn’t even know how to handle a computer.

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