Amidst a sea of flashbulbs, accolades, and high-profile guests at Taj Lands End, the 2025 edition of the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Memorial Awards offered one unexpected, quietly compelling moment. The spotlight turned briefly yet meaningfully towards Kuruva Venkataramana Murthy, who accepted his award not with grand statements, but with the same presence that has defined his work for over a decade.
Presented by actor Sonu Sood and Union Minister Narayan Rane, the award recognizes Murthy’s pioneering contribution to transformational leadership coaching through impact storytelling. But behind the polished certificate and ceremonial applause lies a far deeper narrative one that’s been steadily unfolding across India’s leadership circles, often without mainstream fanfare.
Murthy, the founder of One in the Universe, is not a traditional leadership figure. He is not a LinkedIn motivational speaker. Nor is he a consultant touting frameworks or quarterly productivity plans. Instead, he is a facilitator of deep inner reflection, someone who invites leaders to go beyond strategy to engage with silence, story, and self.
The award is significant. Not merely as a personal achievement, but as a signal that the mainstream is beginning to take note of an emerging paradigm: one where leadership is less about visibility and more about vulnerability and alignment.
A Different Kind of Influence
In a culture conditioned to equate success with spectacle, Kuruva Venkataramana Murthy has consistently resisted the call to “scale” in conventional terms. His work through One in the Universe does not revolve around increasing reach, but around deepening impact. And that’s precisely what has earned him this national recognition.
Murthy’s methodology centers around impact storytelling not as performance, but as exploration. Leaders who work with him are not trained to “sell” better stories, but to listen to the ones already shaping their behavior. The process, often described by participants as “disarmingly honest,” encourages self-awareness over self-promotion.
“In a world of instant answers, Murthy asks better questions,” said a former corporate leader who credits her career transition to her sessions with One in the Universe. “He’s not teaching how to lead others. He’s showing how to first lead oneself.”
A Moment of Recognition in an Industry of Noise
The Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Memorial Awards, organized by Topnotch Foundation, are not merely ceremonial. They seek to identify and celebrate contributions that may not always fit the loudest narrative but redefine leadership at a deeper cultural level.
This year’s event held on July 25 at Taj Lands End, Mumbai was attended by leaders from across industry, governance, media, and social sectors. The inclusion of Murthy in the awardees’ list was a welcome deviation, showing a widening lens on what transformative leadership can mean in 2025 and beyond.
One in the Universe: A Mirror, Not a Megaphone
At the core of Murthy’s work is One in the Universe, a platform that offers reflection spaces, story circles, and coaching rooted in presence not performance. It’s not a company in the traditional sense. It functions more like a sanctuary for people navigating transitions be it career, purpose, or identity.
With no rigid modules or corporate packages, the space operates on conversation, curiosity, and courage. Over the years, it has drawn in facilitators, educators, entrepreneurs, and professionals who have one thing in common: a desire to return to something real.
“This award is not about me,” Murthy shared with quiet humility at the ceremony, “It’s about the countless stories we’ve listened to stories that didn’t want solutions, just presence. And in listening, we found our way forward.”
The Importance of Being Unseen
In the buzz-driven world of coaching and leadership branding, Kuruva Venkataramana Murthy’s refusal to center himself is not just rare it’s revolutionary. He avoids viral posts, doesn’t run ads, and resists the performance of leadership.
And yet, his impact is undeniable.
His clients include senior executives, changemakers, and artists most of whom heard about him not through social media campaigns but via whispered recommendations in corridors, cafés, and circles of trust. His influence, though invisible in search metrics, is palpable in lives quietly realigned with purpose.
From Recognition to Reverberation
While the award ceremony lasted just one evening, its ripple effects are set to be long-term. Murthy’s inclusion in such a mainstream recognition space is more than personal validation it’s a cultural milestone. It opens the door for leadership that is rooted in dharma, not data alone.
The presence of public figures like Sonu Sood and Narayan Rane on stage only added symbolic weight to the message: that India is ready to reimagine what powerful leadership looks like and feels like.
As the applause faded and Murthy stepped off the stage, one couldn’t help but feel that something rare had occurred not just a trophy handed over, but a quiet philosophy endorsed.
Kuruva Venkataramana Murthy, through One in the Universe, is not offering solutions. He is offering a shift one from doing to being, from commanding to listening, from performing to presence.