Authors
A Twitter user claimed that Sudha Murty spends one day every year selling vegetables to “get rid of Ego.” The tweet reads, “Every year Sudha Murthy, wife of founder Infosys, spends one day selling vegetables to get rid of Ego. How one doesn’t let money change their values. #inspiration”
We received a similar claim with the photograph on our Whatsapp verification helpline number.
Other social media users shared similar claims related to the Chairperson of Infosys Foundation and author.
Fact Check/ Verification
A relevant keyword search led us to a 2013 article by Bangalore Mirror which stated, “three days in a year, the lady whose wealth is estimated to be Rs 1763 crore, wakes up at 4am and heads to the Raghavendra Swamy temple, a block away from her z-security-guarded house in Jayanagar.”
It further adds that the author, “cleans the kitchen and the adjoining rooms; washes the dirty utensils, dusts the shelves, chops vegetables, takes inventory of stock, sweeps the yard and empties the trash cans.”
On 13 September, a senior editor at ET Now, Chandra R Srikanth, tweeted a similar claim with a clarification on Murty’s photograph in context. Her tweet reads:
“We asked Infosys Foundation about this picture. It is Sudha Murty, but she is not selling veggies. She helps out in the Raghavendra Swamy temple Jayanagar kitchen at times as a form of service. Also not a recent picture.”
We reached out to the staff at Raghavendra Swamy Mutt in Jayanagar, Bangalore who confirmed that it is indeed Sudha Murty at their temple premise in the photograph.
Manager at the temple, RK Vadendrachar, responded to our query saying, “Sudhamurty madem comes to our temple for seva to sort vegetables. This picture is our temple premises.”
Other fact checkers have debunked this claim as well.
Conclusion
The claim on Sudha Murty selling vegetables for a day every year is misleading. The photograph in context is from her time doing seva and sorting vegetables at Raghavendra Swamy Mutt in Bangalore.
Result: Misleading
Our Sources
RK Vadendrachar, Manager at Raghavendra Swamy Mutt
Chandra R Srikanth, Editor at ET Now: https://twitter.com/chandrarsrikant/status/1305012663089389568?s=20
Bangalore Mirror: https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/opinion/sunday-read/sudha-murty-books-critics-author/articleshow/24763905.cms
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