Balancing Acts

Sudha is an unassuming person. She is your girl next door. When you meet her, her simplicity meets you first. She is approachable with an air of no-nonsense around her. It is as if she has decluttered her thoughts a long time ago. What she keeps with her is clarity, purpose, and her experiences. Conversations with Sudha, take you through a trail. Her heart and mind merges. Tasks and ideas don’t just take up the route of completion, but they also leave a trail of excellence behind.

With over 25 years of experience, her career at thyssenkrupp Uhde has not followed a straight path. There have been breaks—moving countries, caring for family, raising her children. Yet, she has found her anchor here. The respect for her expertise, the work culture and the flexibility makes it feel the right fit. Sudha weighs best and worst-case scenarios before taking her decisions. An extremely hardworking person, she has given her immersive self to the task at hand, be it working with trainees or working on a complex project. She leads by giving her team space to learn from their experiences.

It’s interesting to meet the likes of her, the kinds who wear their hearts on their sleeves, who enjoy and draw their energies from life itself going through the many roles and the vagaries it throws. Those that are motivated by the learnings they get and the influence they leave behind. The memory of a near-death experience in the Nepal earthquake humbles her, knowing that life is fragile. Sudha does not drop anything; she juggles, finding happiness in how she has given herself completely—to life, family, and career, at different phases. The ease with which she navigates, much like the crosswords she enjoys on Sundays with a cup of coffee, makes you wonder whether it’s attachment or detachment at its core.