Mike Wolanin | The Republic Sarla Kalsi delivers the keynote speech during the annual Great Girls, Wonderful Women event at Foundation for Youth in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
For decades, Sarla Kalsi has been one of the most admired women in Bartholomew County.
Professionally, she had been the president of Irwin Management Co., executive director of the Irwin-Sweeney-Miller Foundation and president of the Tipton Lakes Company, Inc.
On Thursday, she was the keynote speaker for the 10th annual Great Girls, Wonderful Women luncheon, which brings together girls in FFY programming to meet women leaders throughout the community sharing their stories about finding success. The luncheon raises funds for scholarships to allow all youngsters regardless of financial need to take part in FFY programs. All of the proceeds from the luncheon are used to fund scholarships for those who might not otherwise be able to afford FFY programming.
Kalsi was remarkably candid as she discussed the many daunting obstacles she has faced since she was born.
Born in Karachi, British India (now Pakistan) her grandfather amassed a fortune. He owned a utility company, other businesses and had substantial land holdings, Kalsi said.
But when the political climate deteriorated and the family became marked as a religious minority, the grandfather was targeted for violence, Kalsi told the crowd in the Foundation For Youth gymnasium.
“They had no option but to leave everything behind, walk away from their own land, take whatever they could pack in suitcases and fled as refugees to what was called Bombay (now called Mumbai),” Kalsi said. “I was a very small child, but I still have memories of the violence. To this day, when I see blood, I feel faint.”
Since her father had two engineering degrees (mechanical and electrical), he was able to provide his family with a comfortable life in Bombay, she said. And from an early age, Sarla had the desire to get a good education.
After graduating from high school at age 16, Sarla was ready to go to college. But her parents wanted to follow the custom of entering into an arranged marriage. But with the assistance of her paternal grandmother, she was allowed to college instead. After graduating with good grades at the age of 20, Sarla said she was ready to get married.
But only for love, she insisted. No arranged marriage would be considered, she said.
As Kalsi explained it, girls were generally not allowed to date in India, but Sarla said she reached a compromise with her parents that allowed her to date the sons of her parents’ friends.
It was through that arrangement that she and Hiru Malkani fell in love and got married. But there was one more thing on Sarla’s wish list. She developed a strong desire to see New York City from seeing images of it in American movies. And the couple wanted to continue their professional studies in the Big Apple.
With the exception of business people and students, most citizens of India weren’t allowed to travel overseas, Kalsi said. While studying in the United States required being admitted to an American university, it turned out that was the easy part for Sarla and Hiru.
“You were not allowed to pay tuition with your own money, so you have to get a scholarship,” Kalsi said. “And then, you have to find someone who agrees to be your financial supporter.”
Both Hiru and Sarla received scholarships from Columbia University and Hiru’s brother, who lived in New York City, gave the newlyweds a letter of support, she said.
When the couple got to the airport, the exchange rate of dollars for rupees only provided them $11 each. And it was only after their arrival in New York that they discovered their student visas did not allow them to work.
Sarla learned she could earn $20 by giving blood. Hiru, who had studied in Germany, was able to earn some cash by doing German translations, Kalsi said. With the limited income, they purchased two small hamburgers for $1 every day for two semesters. They also splurged by buying a Coca-Cola and candy bar.
For three or four nights each week, Hiru’s sister-in-law would provide them with dry, slightly-warm pork chops that had been cooked several hours earlier, Kalsi said. She added that’s why she’s never eaten pork chops again.
After completing two semesters, both Hiru and Sarla were allowed to work and both got summer jobs in upstate New York, Kalsi told the crowd.
After returning to Columbia, they had saved enough money to get accommodations through student housing, she said. But she still had two more semesters to finish when Sarla learned she was pregnant. When asked about medical insurance, Kalsi said the couple didn’t have the money to afford it. Her medical checkups took place in a dilapidated hospital that worked in conjunction with a free medical clinic.
Once her daughter, Surekha, was born, she was discharged with the baby only eight hours after the birth, Kalsi said. While often alone and inexperienced in raising child, her parents did what they could by send cans of food from India.
When Sarla graduated with a degree in finance, Fortune 500 company recruiters sent letters to her – only to be surprised that Sarla was a woman. But there was one small (at that time) company that wasn’t surprised. A company that wanted both Hiru and Sarla: Cummins Engine Co.
Both were offered good salaries to entice them to move to Columbus. Eventually the couple’s son, Sanjay, was born in what is now Columbus Regional Hospital. The couple felt they had a bright shiny future together.
But then, tragedy struck. Hiru was one of three Cummins employees killed on Jan. 28, 1975 when their single-engine aircraft struck a power line near Clifford and crashed upside down in a plowed field. He was only 35.
His death after 11 years of marriage left Sarla a 30-year-old single mother with two children, ages 8 and 5.
But Sarla found love again a few years later at work. In August, 1977, she married her second husband, former Cummins corporate attorney Swadesh Singh Kalsi. He was a founding director and first president of the International School of Indiana, and served more than three decades as a adjunct professor of international law at the Indiana University McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. They would have a son together named Sandeep, and remain married for 43 years before his death on Sept. 27, 2020, at the age of 77.
Sarla left Cummins after nine months to work for Irwin Management Co., and became treasurer of the Irwin-Sweeney-Miller Foundation in 1980. Eventually, she climbed to the top administrative job in the two organizations, handling both finances and philanthropy for the late industrialist J. Irwin Miller and his family.
Kalsi became a prolific leader for many nonprofits and worthy causes. She was a former president of Bartholomew County Youth Advocacy Commission, spearheading the effort to bring the George Junior Republic group home for boys to Columbus.
Appointed by Gov. Evan Bayh to the Interdepartmental Board for the Coordination of Human Services, Kalsi also became a member of the Indiana Family and Social Services Advisory committee. The former campaign chairwoman for the United Way of Bartholomew County was selected as The Republic’s 1995 Woman of the Year.
More recently, Kalsi has served with the Heritage Fund – the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, the Bartholomew County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Promotion Commission, and the advisory committee for the International School of Indiana, co-founded by her first husband.
Following her address Thursday, Kalsi received a long standing ovation.
About the event
What: 10th annual “Great Girls, Wonderful Women” luncheon at the Foundation For Youth.
Purpose: To empower and inspire girls and women while raising funds for scholarships to allow all children to take part in FFY programs. 100% of the proceeds from the luncheon goes to fund scholarships
Goal: To raise more than the $64,000 received during last year’s program. As of Thursday morning, a total of $49,513 had been raised, but donations are still being encouraged.
Theme: “Blaze a Trail”
Attendance: A sell-out crowd of about 300 that included local leaders from education, city government and community organizations, as well as young girls from local schools.
To donate: Go to foundationforyouth.com and click on “DONATE”
