Akshata Murty: Keeping life as routine as possible
The prime minister calls her his secret weapon. A former aide says that Sunak relies on her easygoing nature to relax
By Shajil KumarMay 15, 2024
While prime minister Rishi Sunak may be going through a politically turbulent period with the Conservative party facing a defeat in the recent local election and opinion polls favouring Labour in the forthcoming general elections, his wife Akshata Murty appears unperturbed and focused on the smooth running of the house.
For a year, she has been inviting schoolchildren into Downing Street for Lessons every Friday, The Times reports. The 44-year-old 'Mrs M', as the Downing Street staff call her, likes to walk the dog and take the Tube.
She claims few people recognise her and she loves the anonymity. She takes her dog Nova, a labrador, for a walk in St James’s Park most weeks.
The prime minister calls her his secret weapon. A former aide told the daily that Sunak relies on her easygoing nature to relax. After going through all the political intrigues of the day, Sunak finds Akshata's calm demeanour back home soothing.
However, he did jokingly remark during a joint video interview for a magazine for International Women’s Day that she is messy and doesn’t like making the bed. Akshata had later said he was a "stickler for the rules" whereas she is "much more free-spirited".
Akshata is the daughter of NR Narayana Murthy, one of India’s richest men and co-founder of the Infosys tech company, now valued at £56-£64 billion. Murty is already worth some £500 million and last month was handed another £10.5 million Infosys dividend.
She managed to keep out of the public eye until her non-dom status became public while her husband was chancellor. This gave Sunak's rivals enough fodder to snipe at him and accuse Akshata of avoiding tax while the country was facing recession.
She later issued a long Twitter/X thread where she said she didn’t want her tax status to be “a distraction for my husband” and would change the arrangement.
Akshata often sidesteps any political questions - be it the Rwanda policy or immigration. “I’m not the elected politician; I’m the wife,” she told the daily.
The role of the prime minister’s spouse is a tough one with round a clock media spotlight.
Carrie Johnson, a recent occupant of the role, was cast as a manipulative person leading Boris Johnson astray. Samantha Cameron remarked that it is very harsh and "trying to do your best in a role you may not be expecting".
Akshata has been berated for wearing £600 Gucci trainers one day and then for being spotted in £30 faux-fur slides.
After Sunak became the prime minister, Akshata began meeting children during reception and while touring the country. They had many questions about Downing Street.
She then decided that the prime minister's residence should not be a 'gilded cage' and began inviting schoolchildren. She tested the idea with a few schools and soon made it a weekly feature.
Having been a fashion designer, creating her own brand, and also a venture capitalist, defining her role in Downing Street wasn’t straightforward. “Every spouse has done it differently. My view is, in what small way can I add value, not just by supporting Rishi, but what I can do that’s worthwhile while living here? Education is one area that has always been meaningful to me,” she told the daily.
While growing up in Bengaluru, Akshata went to Baldwin Girls’ High School in a rickshaw. She says that, together with her younger brother, Rohan, she was expected “to do chores around the house”.
She was born the year before her father founded Infosys and she used to live with her grandparents while her mother and father worked in Mumbai. Within a few years, her parents had made enough to move the family to Bengaluru.
Akshata’s family first came to London on a visit when she was about 12 and remembers seeing Downing Street, but never expected to be a resident at this famous address.
She calls her mother Sudha, who runs the Infosys charitable foundation, her role model. Sudha was one of the first female electrical engineers in India – the only female engineering student at her college out of 599 boys.
When she saw a job advertisement for engineers on the Tata automotive production line that excluded woman applicants, she wrote a postcard to the chairman JRD Tata, who hired her. It was there she met Narayana.
Akshata feels the same about her daughters, Krishna, 13, and Anoushka, 11. “To be honest, Rishi is so busy these days he doesn’t have the same input, but I don’t worry about my girls. I always say it’s about the journey before a music or drama exam and give them a little book or something before they get the result. I want them to find a passion,” she told the daily.
For someone so rich and now well connected, endlessly shaking the hands of world leaders, she is surprisingly self-effacing, happy to embrace the role of loyal spouse.
She claims she tries hard to keep life as routine as possible. "I am not a politician. I can’t always please everyone. My father told me the softest pillow is a clear conscience. Do your best and then you don’t worry. So that’s my role. To keep the show going,” she told the daily.
Before her husband became an MP, Akshata used to keep track of news, but now she avoids as it has become much more personal.
UK music industry continue to face systemic barriers that hinder progress, visibility, and career growth – despite decades of contribution and cultural influence, a new report has revealed.
The study, South Asian Soundcheck, published last Tuesday (7), surveyed 349 artists and professionals and found that while many are skilled and ambitious, structural obstacles are still holding them back.
Prepared by Lila, a charity focused on empowering south Asian artists and music professionals, the survey showed that nearly three-quarters of respondents earn some income from music, but only 28 per cent rely on it full time.
More than half struggle to access opportunities or funding, and many said they lack industry networks or knowledge about contracts and rights.
Beyond structural issues, almost half said they face stereotypes about the kind of music they should make; two in five encounter family doubts about music as a career, and one in three has experienced racial discrimination.
Although 69 per cent said there was progress in visibility, but 68 per cent still feel invisible within the industry.
Respondents sought urgent action, including mentorship and networking opportunities, stronger south Asian representation in key industry roles and fairer access to funding.
Veteran musician and composer Viram Jasani, who chaired the Asian Music Circuit and led a national enquiry into south Asian music in 1985, told Eastern Eye the findings were “disheartening”.
“I read the report and my heart sank – it feels as though nothing has changed,” he said.
“Back in 1985, we had already identified the same problems and made clear recommendations for better representation, employment and long-term support. Four decades later, we are still talking about the same issues.”
Jasani, a sitar, tabla and tambura expert, said the report focused mainly on modern genres and overlooked traditional south Asian music, which he believes is central to cultural identity.
“Since colonial times, British attitudes have not changed much,” he said. “If they can erase Indian traditional culture and create a community that lives entirely within an English cultural bubble, then they will have succeeded.”
He added that young south Asian artists were often drawn to Western contemporary music, while neglecting their own heritage.
“We are brilliant in Western genres, but that should come after we are grounded in our traditional shashtriya sangeet (classical music),” he said. “Without that foundation, we lose our sense of identity.”
Jasani also warned a lack of unity within the south Asian community continues to weaken its cultural progress.
He said, “People compete with each other while the world watches. For too long, massaging egos has taken priority over producing the best of our culture.”
According to the survey, one in three has experienced direct racial discrimination. One respondent said, “There are virtually no visible and successful south Asian artists in the mainstream – people simply do not know where to place us.”
Another added: “I want south Asian artists to be part of the collective mainstream industry, not just put on south Asian-specific stages or events.”
While the visibility of south Asian artists has improved, with more names appearing on festival line-ups and in the media, the study revealed this progress remains “surface level”.
Lila’s founder, Vikram Gudi, said the findings show progress has not yet been translated into structural inclusion.
“The data exposes what we call the progress paradox. Seventy-three per cent of the people we surveyed earn some money from music, but only 27 per cent earn enough to rely on it as a sustainable career,” he said.
“The Soundcheck gives us the evidence to enact real change and identifies three essential needs – mentorship, representation, and investment.”
Three-quarters of participants said mentorship from experienced professionals would make the biggest difference to their careers. Many stressed the importance of being guided by people who “understand how the industry works and can connect them to decision-makers”.
Nearly the same proportion called for greater south Asian representation across the music industry – not just on stage, but within executive, programming and production roles at festivals, venues, record labels and streaming services.
Dedicated funding also emerged as a priority, with many describing the current grant systems as inaccessible or ill-suited to the diverse and cross-genre work that defines south Asian creativity today.
Two in five respondents reported that family or community resistance remains a challenge, often due to the perceived instability of a music career. The report argued this scepticism is “economically logical”, when there are so few visible south Asian success stories in the mainstream.
Responding to the report, Indy Vidyalankara, member of the UK Music Diversity Taskforce and BPI Equity & Justice Advisory Group, said: “South Asian music is rich, vibrant, and hugely influential. We need south Asian representation at every level of the ecosystem, plus support and investment to match that influence.”
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