'She spends on philanthropy but not...': Narayana Murthy on why wife Sudha Murty chooses to fly in economy class over business class

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and his wife, author and philanthropist Sudha Murty, recently appeared on Netflix's The Great Indian Kapil Show. They were joined by Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal and his wife, Grecia Munoz. During the episode, 74-year-old Sudha Murty spoke about her preference for flying economy class. However, Narayana Murty playfully disagreed, saying, "She spends on philanthropy but not on our comfort."

During the episode, host Kapil Sharma asked Narayana and Sudha about their disagreements. Narayana mentioned how Sudha manages money, while Sudha shared, "He does the shopping. What do we need in life? Good food—not like chana bhatura, but good, healthy food. We don’t need so many clothes. I spend all my money on philanthropy. He’ll tell me to buy business class tickets, but I say, ‘Why? I’ll reach the same destination at the same time with an economy ticket too.’"

Talking about their difference of opinion, Sudha said, "This is where we have a difference of opinion. He says I am extreme, I call him the extreme end. We are opposites, but opposites attract, so we find a compromise zone."

In her previous appearance on The Kapil Sharma Show, Sudha Murty shared an incident where she was called "cattle class" for wearing a salwar-kameez to the airport and standing in the business class queue.

"Around 4–5 years ago, I had worn a salwar-kameez and was standing in the business class queue. They thought I was poor and said, ‘Oh, they are cattle-class people. How will they know what business class is?’ So I went up to them and asked, ‘What is cattle-class?’” she said.

In the latest episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show, Narayana and Sudha Murty revisited their love story. Narayana fondly remembered their first meeting, saying, "Meeting her was like a breath of fresh air. She’s always been positive, kind, and very talkative. She wanted someone who would listen, so she was happy, and I was happy."

Sudha, on the other hand, recalled how Narayana was late for his first meeting with her father and mentioned his ambitions of joining politics and opening an orphanage.