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 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 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..(To be continued)
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