Bhavish Aggarwal To Narayan Murthy : Businessmen Whose Spouses Provided Financial Support

Society has always hated the idea of women providing financial support and putting the entire responsibility of earning for the family on men alone. However, it is important for men and women to support each other constantly, whether it is emotionally or financially.

Society expects the man to look after the financial needs of the family and assume the position of the breadwinner. The ones who do not comply with the norms of the patriarchal society and either earn less or nothing as compared to their spouses are shamed and made fun of. Society does not understand that a family's needs are the responsibility of both spouses, whether it is emotional or financial. It does not matter who earns more or less because they both are equally involved in the relationship. A Twitter post is reminding the world of how important it is for wives to financially support their husbands.

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Businessmen Supported By Wives

A Twitter user posted the story of Shark Tank India contestant Ganesh Balakrishnan and wrote, "Wife Kamati Hai, Mai Udata Hu" (My wife earns and I spend) Ganesh Balakrishnan (@ganeshb78) said this with a shy giggle on @sharktankindia. I realised how living off your wife's salary is looked down upon in our Indian society". It is no news that when a man lives off his wife's earnings, he is called a good-for-nothing while when a woman does it, she is called a homemaker and it is supposed to be the duty of the husband to support her financial needs but not vice versa.

The user continued to give examples of successful business tycoons like Infosys founder NR Narayan Murthy and Ola Bhavish Aggarwal whose wives supported them financially. Murthy's wife Sudha Murthy was the first one who invested in his new venture Infosys after his first venture failed. Bhavish Aggarwal's wife supported him financially and lent him her car during the early days of Ola to fulfil the ride requests. The financial support and the trust that their wives showed them are what encouraged them to go ahead despite hardships.

The Twitter user continued, "There are many more startup founders who were able to succeed due to their spouse's support. While everyone is hailing Ganesh, I would also want to give an ode to his wife to keep his spirit alive. Rightly said, your career depends on the person you marry!".

Society judges a man for earning less than his wife or not earning at all. However, financial needs are also the responsibility of the wife and if she can and wants to provide for the family then she should. Both Murthy and Aggarwal are one of the most respected and successful business tycoons but what rooted their success was the trust that their spouses had in them and the sense of responsibility to support them financially.

It is not a shameful thing to receive financial support from your wife, men have been providing for their families for ages. They need to understand that the financial burden is not solely theirs to bear, their wives are there to share the burden and responsibility just like they share their life. That actually is the foundation of an equal and healthy relationship where you do not shy away from showing your shortcomings and your spouse accepts them and supports you to work on them.

Opinions expressed are author's own.