Sudha Murty was almost universally respected for her simple lifestyle up until she appeared on the Kapil Sharma Show. Then, in attacks that were both vicious and unexpected, the social media trolls came out in force, ripping into Murty for her unpretentious way of living. “Sudha Murty is one of the country’s richest people yet she breathes oxygen,” one troll remarked acidly, attacking billionaire Murty who has always been proud that her lifestyle has been unchanged by her vast riches.

Said another equally nasty troll: “If Sudha Murty is made the CEO of Bumble (the dating portal), she will rename it as Humble. And also: “In other news, Sudha Murty was put in charge of the Ministry of Down to Earth Sciences," said another critic.

Murty and her husband, Infosys founder N. R. Narayana Murthy, have always insisted that their way of living has been unaffected by their billions, and have almost made a fetish of their non-lavish lifestyles. But the Murthys, who were already public figures, are now facing the glare of unprecedented publicity because their daughter Akshata is married to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

It’s a pretty safe bet that her daughter’s famous husband was why Sudha Murty got asked to appear to the Kapil Sharma Show which usually makes space on its sofas only for movie stars, cricketers and other glamorous celebrities. Even though the show launched in 2016, it was Sudha’s first invitation to appear even though, aside from being an engineer, she’s a bestselling author whose books sell in the millions and is married to the star founder of Infosys.

'Simple looks'

On the show, Murty got lured into the trap of relating how the UK immigration officer had been surprised because she put down her address in the country as 10, Downing Street – the official home of British prime ministers since circa 1732. Murty put his surprise down to her “simple looks”.

Murty has always made it a a point to emphasise her unpretentious way of life. She and Narayana Murthy have a great partnership, she told The Telegraph, adding that, “Both of us have simple habits of life and a simple way of living.”

On the Kapil Sharma show, though, TV viewers felt she had struck a false note and pushed simplicity too far. For good measure, Murty also related on the programme the time when she had been mistaken for a “cattle class” passenger who had joined the business class queue by mistake because she was wearing a salwar kameez.

New experience for Murty

But being attacked by trolls for her plain lifestyle has been a totally new experience for Murty. And nobody has ever accused Murty of faking her minimalist approach. In everyday life, she wears only a gold mangalsutra and earrings and there are no rings on her fingers. Her office, until 2021 when she retired from her duties running the Infosys Foundation charity, was devoid of any ostentation. There was just a photo of J. R. D. Tata on the wall – Tata gave Murty a job as an engineer at Tata Motors. She was the first women at the company. A plaque given to her by the Dalai Lama was the lone other decoration.

“Money can give you certain comforts but money has limited use. And once you realise that money becomes a burden to you, you donate it. Money is a heavy bag on your back and you should lead a simple, lightweight life,” she told The Telegraph.

And Murty, a small-town doctor’s daughter, walks the talk. She told The Telegraph how she would spend almost 20 days a month travelling on Infosys Foundation charity work. A life-long learner, she even began studying Kannada as it was spoken in the 8th and 9th centuries so she could read ancient inscriptions in Karnataka’s older temples and monuments.

Author of dozens of books

If that isn’t enough, she’s written dozens of books both in Kannada and English, some of which have sold millions. Unlikely though it may seem, many of her stories always spin around the evils of wealth and how it changes people for the worse.

Unusually, when she’s writing a newspaper article, she writes it in English and then translates it to Kannada. With books it’s the other way round. “When I write a novel, it has to be in Kannada first because my emotions come through in that language.”

While the Murthys are more in the public eye than ever before, they seem to be taking it in their stride. Narayana Murthy was even photographed wheeling his suitcase along Downing Street on a visit to see his daughter and her family.

Akshata's common-sense approach

Murty’s daughter Akshata, meanwhile, has taken a common-sense, though less frugal, approach to fashion than her mother. Akshata’s learnt rapidly that as the prime minister’s wife every time she makes a public appearance her clothing is minutely scrutinised. It’s said she has hired fashion consultant Isabel Spearman who also guided former prime minister David Cameron’s wife Samantha on what to wear.

Akshata’s now careful to wear mainly British brands and for the G7 summit, The Guardian reported she wore a POUNDS STERLING 275 bright pink cashmere top from Chinti & Parker. That was matched with neon green tailored trousers from another British brand Me+Em. In Hiroshima, she was carrying a POUNDS STERLING 375 mini-bag by Edinburgh-based Strathberry. As the prime minister’s wife, she’s figured out the formula for dressing: Costly items but not stratospherically expensive.