Viral Message About Sudha Murthy Travelling Without Ticket in Train is False

A message apparently telling the inspiring journey of Sudha Murthy, writer, and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation is widely being forwarded on social media. The message elaborates on the story of a runaway girl Chitra traveling without a ticket on a train and later grew up to be Sudha Murthy.

Fact Crescendo received the message on our WhatsApp Tipline (9049053770) with a fact-check request.

We found that the message is false. The information in viral posts is a grossly convoluted version of one of the stories written by Sudha Murthy. 

WHAT’S THE CLAIM?

In brief, the story in the message follows: A 13-years-old girl Chitra was traveling without a ticket on Bombay-Bangalore Train. The ticket checker threatened her to throw out when a kind-hearted Prof. Usha Bhattacharya paid for her ticket. Upon learning Chitra had no relatives or family, Prof. Usha put her up with an NGO in Bangalore and helped with her education. Later Prof Usha shifted to Delhi and lost contact with Chitra. After 20 years, Prof. Usha went to the US for a lecture. There she had a meal in a restaurant. She learned that somebody had already paid her dinner bill. She asked who and Chitra came forward to meet her. They both cried reminiscing about the train journey. Chitra told that her name is now Sudha and she married a man called Narayan Murthy. 

Original Post – Facebook | Facebook 

FACT-CHECK

First, we did a keyword search and found an article on the Speaking Tree website published in 2016. 

Under the ‘Bombay to Bangalore’ blog entry, a similar story has been narrated with different details. It is mentioned in the beginning that it is extracted from Sudha Murthy’s collection ‘Bombay to Bangalore’. 

This story is written in first person (meaning Sudha Murthy herself telling the episode). The runaway girl Chitra in this story does not grow up to be Sudha Murthy. 

Original Blog – Speaking Tree

Taking a clue from this, we looked for the collection. We found that Bombay to Bangalore is a chapter from Sudha Murthy’s book ‘The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk.’ It was published by Penguin in 2012. 

It is her fourth book of recollections of her experiences as a teacher, writer, and social worker. This is a compilation of real-life experiences of Sudha Murthy with the tales of selfless service, amuses with a scattering of human-life anecdotes, and reads the book’s description. 

“I am writing about the personal lives of many people who have confided in me about their problems,” writes Murthy in the preface of the book. “I thank all these people wholeheartedly and am grateful for their strength and kindness that has allowed me to share their stories with you.”

So, the story of Chitra is not about Sudha Murthy’s childhood. It is just a story about an incident that happened or is known to Sudha Murthy. 

In the original story, Chitra marries a man called John, not Narayan Murthy.

CONCLUSION

Hence, it is clear that the viral message is false and does not tell the childhood story of Sudha Murthy. The runaway girl Chitra is not Sudha Murthy. (If you also come across any such videos and images you think are falsely viral, send them on our WhatsApp Helpline (9049053770) or tag us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.)