Faces of Philanthropy: Murdeshwar Family

When siblings Ganesh Murdeshwar, Nandita Chakravarti and Kal Prabhakar were preparing their childhood home for sale after their parents’ passing, they felt a deep sense of melancholy. 

They’d all grown up in the house, bought in 1971 when their father began his decades-long tenure as a mathematics professor at the University of Alberta. Though all three siblings are U of A graduates, their career paths had taken them around the globe.

“Once that house was sold, with our parents gone, it was the end of our family’s entire 60-year history in Edmonton,” says Ganesh.

When they began to think about how they might mark the closing of this significant chapter for their family, the answer was obvious: honour their parents’ legacy by supporting students in the generations to come — the same way their parents had supported them.

Their parents, Maya and Mangesh Murdeshwar, had a lifelong belief in the power of knowledge to change lives. The duo’s relationship flourished while they were both lecturers at a college in Mumbai. They both obtained multiple advanced degrees and continued to emphasize the importance of higher education to their children. 

They also placed a high value on giving back. When Mangesh lost his vision later in life, the siblings were tasked with helping him write out cheques to the many causes he supported whenever they were back in Edmonton visiting. Their mother, Kal recalls, used to pen letters to the U of A, concerned that students away from home weren’t getting enough to eat and wondering how she could help.

By establishing this award, the Murdeshwar family is expanding access to education. Through gifts like this one, the U of A’s Shape the Future campaign, enhances student success by supporting access and affordability, experiential learning and student spaces.

In a tribute to their family history, the Maya and Mangesh Murdeshwar Graduate Award was initially imagined to be awarded to students pursuing degrees in computing science — the same undergrad degree held by all three siblings – as well as economics and mathematics, their parents’ fields of study. 

However, it was a chance discovery that sparked the decision to support female students in particular. While looking through boxes of paperwork in search of their mother’s original will, Ganesh stumbled on a massive stack of hundreds of rejection letters their mother had saved from jobs she applied to in the ’70s and ’80s — jobs she was more than qualified for. 

After her parents refused to support her pursuit of a higher education, Maya self-funded her first master’s degree by selling laundry detergent door-to-door in India. Even with an advanced degree, she faced significant barriers as a woman in her field. 

Though she later shifted her career’s focus, building an impressive real estate portfolio while working as a legal clerk, her passion for economics never truly faded. The siblings still remember the spark they saw in their mother during a one-year contract role she had doing economics research with the Alberta government.

“She was just glowing with happiness during that time,” says Ganesh. “It was finally something she was truly interested in.” 

While their childhood home has since been sold, the Murdeshwar legacy continues to shape the future for women through their family’s generosity.

“Knowing this award was created to honour women in the sciences inspires me deeply,” says Mahdieh Aminian Shahrokhabadi, a PhD candidate in mathematical finance and the second award recipient. 

“This kind of support reinforces our sense of belonging in academia and tells us that our work matters.”