Little did I know then that in real life, to be successful, academic excellence is not a necessary condition.Īfter reading the notice, I went fuming to my room. I had done extremely well in my studies, probably better than most of the boys. Though I was not keen on taking up a job, I took it as a challenge and decided to apply. For the first time, I was faced with gender discrimination. It stated that the company required young, bright engineers, hard-working with excellent academic background, etc.Īt the bottom there was a small line: ‘Lady candidates need not apply’. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company TELCO. One day, while on the way to my hostel from the lecture hall, I saw an advertisement on the noticeboard. I had not thought of taking up a job in India. Other girls were pursuing their research in different departments of science.Īfter completing my postgraduation, I was keen to go abroad to do my doctorate in computer science and had already been offered scholarships from universities in USA. I was the only girl in my postgraduate department in Engineering, and was staying in the ladies’ hostel. Red Gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I did not know what helplessness or injustice meant. I was studying in the final year for my Master’s degree in computer science at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, which was then known as the Tata Institute. I was young and bright, bold and idealistic. Then, invariably, I have to tell the person the following story. ‘But why do you have their photos in your office?’
‘The man in the blue suit is Bharat Ratna J.R.D.Tata and the black and white photo is of Sir Jamsetji Tata.’ ‘Then why do you look at them and start the day?’ I smile and reply ‘No, nor are they related to me.’ Some people have even asked me, ‘Is this black and white photo that of a Sufi saint or a religious guru?’ Many people have asked me if they are related to me. One is of a gentleman in a blue suit and the other one is a black and white photograph of an old man with dreamy eyes and a white beard. Every day when I enter my office I look at them and start my day. There are two photographs that hang on my office wall.
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