The Wipro exec who played a big role in Sudha and Narayana Murthy’s love story

Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty bonded over their love of books.

Both Narayana Murthy and his wife Sudha Murty have mentioned on different occasions that their mutual friend Prasanna, who eventually became the CMO at Wipro, played an important part in their relationship. Apart from being Murthy's friend, Prasanna was also Murty's co-worker from her time at Telco, now known as Tata Motors.

But, the recently published biography on the couple ‘An Uncommon Love: The Early Life of Sudha and Narayana Murthy’ by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has revealed that Hungarian-born British journalist George Mikes also played a role in bringing them together.

Prasanna and Sudha Murty bonded over their love of reading and would often discuss books that they had both read. Most of the time, Murty would be familiar with the authors but once she was taken by surprise. Once, while visiting him, she saw that he was engrossed in a writer that she had never heard of: George Mikes.

"The titles of Mikes's books were unusual, too: How to Be an Alien, How to Tango: A Solo Trip across South America, and How to Unite Nations. And on the flyleaf of each book was written a name and a place. These places were unexpected, exotic: Paris, Rome, Munich, Istanbul, and Kabul."

Seeing them, a young Sudha Murty asked her friend, "How do you have these books? And who is this man, anyway? A global bus conductor?"

The books actually belonged to Narayana Murthy. Prasanna had taken up a separate flat and Murthy was his flatmate

Since Murthy also was a voracious reader, Prasanna suggested Sudha Murty meet him. "He has certainly travelled to many countries and had many adventures! He's a most interesting man, full of stories. Also, he is a Kannadiga like us. You'll love his collection of books. They've taken over most of our living room. In fact, I'd say that books are the only things he cares to own."

Sudha Murty hesitated but agreed to meet him. She imagined him to be tall, broad-shouldered, suave, and debonair, much like the superstar of the time, Rajesh Khanna. But when she walked into Prasanna's flat the next day, she was surprised to see a thin man with thick glasses and a small scar on his forehead --  a far cry from a movie star. But they bonded over their love of books. She discovered that they shared a passion for Kannadiga writers. Murty also spotted more titles by Mikes. "It's Meekesh," Narayana Murthy had reportedly said, gently correcting her pronunciation of the Hungarian writer's name.

Read more: 'I was in love': Narayana Murthy recalls travelling 11 hours in train without a ticket for Sudha Murty