Sudha Murty, author, businesswoman and chairperson of Infosys Foundation, recently revealed a awkward problem she faced after Rishi Sunak became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
The mother-in-law of Sunak shared the story during the latest episode of The Kapil Sharma Show. She recalled how an immigration officer refused to believe her residential address when she wrote "10 Downing Street" in the form, which is the official residence of the UK PM.
“Once when I had gone, they asked me my residential address. ‘Where are you staying in London?’ My elder sister was with me and I thought should I write ‘10 Downing Street’,” said the Indian philanthropist. She also spoke about how even though her son also lived in the UK at the time, she couldn’t recall his complete address.
“But I finally wrote 10 Downing Street,” she added. “The fellow [the immigration officer] looked at me and said ‘Are you joking?!’” To which she responded, “Nahi, sachchi bolti hu [No, I am telling you the truth].”
10 Downing Street is the official residence and office of the UK prime minister, is currently home to Rishi Sunak.
She also went on to point out how no one believes that a 72-year-old, “simple lady” can be the mother-in-law of the PM.
In a video that went viral last month, Murthy was heard saying, “I made my husband a businessman. My daughter made her husband the Prime Minister of the UK."
"The reason is the glory of the wife. See how a wife can change a husband. But I could not change my husband,” she went on to say.
Sudha Murthy is the wife of NR Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Indian IT giant Infosys. She was recently awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in India, also recalled another incident where she was brushed aside by two business class passengers because of her simple apparel.
Recalling another incident, Sudha revealed how two business class passengers treated her unfairly because of her attire. She also recalled that she was referred to as "cattle class" because she was wearing a salwar-kameez. On the show, she said, "Wearing salwar kameez or sarees labelled me "didi" or "behenji".
She, however, confronted the person for making such a statement, asking him, "What is cattle class?" "Class is not defined this way: if you have money, you have class’," Sudha said on the show, criticising the mentality of the people who think class is derived from the bank balance and appearance of a person.
