Legacy: Letters from eminent parents to their daughters
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Authors: Sudha Menon
SUDHA MENON
Published by Random House India in 2013
Copyright © Sudha Menon 2013
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EPUB ISBN
9788184003949
To my parents,
my conscience keepers,
without whom my world would have been
a different place.
I love you, forever
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
udha’s book, a collection of letters from inspirational men and women, is a reiteration of my belief that our parents can be our best teachers—mine certainly have been for me and my two brothers. It is from our parents that we internalize the values that shape our lives.
N.R. Narayana Murthy’s letter to his daughter Akshata is a delight to read—he comes across as a doting father who is keen that his daughter benefits from the wealth of his own experience. I love the way he tells her to talk to her own daughters about their ancestors and their great accomplishments. It is heart-warming to read his thoughts about the struggles of women at work and how he is inspired by them.
Only a truly global leader like Narayana Murthy can tell his daughter to become a citizen of the world in every sense while simultaneously asking her to be a proud Indian, wherever in the world she lives.
Looking back at my own life after all these years, I can say without hesitation that I was lucky to have been born to my parents, the two extraordinary individuals who shaped my life and made me what I am today. I owe them everything that I have achieved.
Although my father is no more, he remains my strongest source of inspiration. Through my letter to my parents, I hope to convey what they mean to me.
Dearest Daddy and Mummy,
When you told me to consider brewing as a profession decades ago, it was rare for a girl to go out and even get a job for herself. All she was expected to do was complete her education and wait for a suitable man to come along so that she could get married and settle down.
Daddy, you were not the one to tread the beaten path—nor would you let your children do so. You made sure that your only daughter was no different from your two sons. After graduating in Zoology, I was wondering what I could do with my life when you completely stumped me one day by asking me to consider brewing as a profession. Being in the brewery business, you knew it had great potential in India and that I could apply my college education to my career.
Being your daughter, I soon found myself in Australia, studying to be a brewmaster—a profession that, even in a developed country like Australia, was a man’s world. It was challenging but also fun being the lone girl in a room full of men who possibly thought I was out of my mind to be in that class! That was the turning point of my life, in many ways. On my return to India, I went from brewery to brewery in pursuit of employment but soon realized that the brewing world in India was not ready for a lady brewer. This was the first time I faced failure but strangely, it made me even more determined to succeed, I might never have become an entrepreneur. Biocon would never have been born but for the fact that I refused to let somebody else’s prejudices dictate my life.
It was your faith in me, Daddy, that I would do something worthwhile with my education that laid the foundation of my own belief in myself. You were the one who showed me that gender has nothing to do with one’s dreams. You often said to me: ‘If you are intelligent and willing to work hard, you can make anything out of your life.’It was these seeds of wisdom that led me to apply my knowledge of fermentation to develop and pioneer a biotechnology-led enzymes business in India.
You also said that knowledge knows no gender divide. I know it is true today. It is completely possible to bridge the gender divide by being strong-willed, which is what I was as a young woman starting out on a singularly lonely journey into entrepreneurship. I continue to be strong-willed, heading an enterprise whose nucleus is the power of imagination and innovation—which is how I was able to transform my enzymes business into a fully-integrated biopharmaceuticals enterprise that it is today. Fermentation Science, a programme that I started with when I was studying to be a brewer, still remains at the core of our business expertize today.
I am self-assured and strong-willed thanks to the support from you and Mummy—and because you taught me to believe in myself. Had you not treated me as equal to my brothers, I may have suffered an inferiority complex being a woman and even diffident. This is what still happens in many Indian households where young women often grow up feeling they are not good enough—and it is a real pity that they were not blessed with enlightened parents like you.
The most fundamental truth that I learnt from you, Daddy, was this: you have to earn your right over anything you want. I dreamt of studying medicine as a young girl but was so arrogant about my abilities that I applied for admissions to just one college, St.John’s in Bangalore. When the results were declared, I found to my horror that my name was not on the list of those admitted to the college. The only option then was to pay a hefty capitation fee for admission to a private college that offered medical education.
I turned to you then but my heart broke when you simply said ‘No’! I wept and ranted and accused you of being unfair to me because I was a girl child. Today, I am grateful that you stuck to your guns and told me that you would never spend a single rupee on capitation fee, as a matter of principle. You told me in no uncertain terms: ‘If you want something, work for it. Don’t buy your way through things because, if you do, you will never respect yourself.’ Years later, my admiration for your strength of character continues to grow—especially in the context of the challenges of growing corruption this country faces today—as does my appreciation for the value of what you were trying to teach me. To this day I am proud of the fact that I have never ‘bought’ any favour or paid a bribe to facilitate anything that I needed. I simply work till I get to my goal. Thank you, Daddy.
While I shared a deep bond with Daddy, I am deeply inspired by you Mummy. You grew up in Gujarat in a traditional family that placed a high premium on educating seven daughters and their only son.The difference, however, was that they did not think their daughters needed a career. When you married Daddy, you did so understanding that you would spend your life being a housewife and raising kids. But Mummy, you did that with such joy and commitment! Despite your traditional background, you raised us differently, exposing us to your work at the Catholic mission that you volunteered with every week. You encouraged us to interact with your friends from different nationalities, religions, and backgrounds. This instilled a healthy worldview in all of us—that diversity is good and that we must respect different people and their various points of view. And that there is space on this earth for everyone and everything—a lesson that stands us in good stead even today.
Most importantly, Mummy, from you I learnt courage and determination. When Daddy passed away, you were devastated and bereft. You had lost the one person who was your anchor and for a while, it seemed as if you felt your life was over. And then, you surprised us all by emerging from the depths of your grief and despondence to set up your own automated laundry service and you called it ‘Jeeves’ after your favourite P.G. Wodehouse character. You are one of the bravest and most resourceful women I have known—and I am proud to be your daughter.
I look upon all young Indian girls who are approaching adulthood with a mix of anxiety and intrepidation as to what the future holds and reflect on my own youth when I stood at similar crossroads. I would like to say to them: We woman are equal citizens of this country. A good education and pursuit of a career or vocation that is useful to society is what really matters. Making money is not everything; adding value to society with impactful work is.
I would also like to tell them—as I have learnt from you, Daddy and Mummy—there are no shortcuts in life. There will be successes and failures, pain and gain, and there will always be plenty of sceptics, critics, and people with prejudice—as I have learnt through all these years of building Biocon. Life’s rich tapestry is made of all of these. Your task is simply to take everything in your stride and forge ahead. We women are a resilient lot; we are able to take failure and other setbacks in our stride.
My message to all the young girls in our country is that sometimes your weakness can be your biggest strength, and like the handicap in golf, your weakness can be your biggest advantage. If indecisiveness and diffidence are your perceived weaknesses, work quietly on converting these into unwavering self-confidence and decisiveness, and then, go out and conquer the world.