0 books l Rs. 00.00

Checkout

Home

Author

Sudha Murthy

26 Fan(s)

Become a Fan

Sudha Murthy

Location:

India

Nationality:

Indian

Categories:

Short Stories / Fiction

Born:

August 19, 1950

Follow Sudha Murthy:

Sudha Murthy was born on August 19, 1950 in Shiggaon in Karnataka. She was raised by her parents and grandparents. Her childhood proved to be the inspiration behind most of her stories. How I taught my Grandmother to Read and Other Stories is her most popular book. Sh...

More details

Did You Know?

Sudha Murthy was the first female engineer to be hired at TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company or TELCO (now called Tata Motors). Her books have been translated into 15 languages.

Books by Sudha Murthy

DOLLER SOSE by: Sudha Murthy (ISBN : 9788128008023)

0 Review

..More Details

Add to My Shelf

Add to a Book Club

Dwand by: Sudha Murthy (ISBN : 9381315531)

0 Review

..More Details

Add to My Shelf

Add to a Book Club

Dollar Sose by: Sudha Murthy (ISBN : 8192000974)

0 Review

In this story, set in today's times, Sudha Murty describes how the love for dollar can make someone..More Details

Add to My Shelf

Add to a Book Club

The Magic Drum And Other Favourite Stories by: Sudha Murthy (ISBN : 9780143330066)

0 Review

A princess who thinks she was a bird, a coconut that cost a thousand rupees, and a shepherd with a..More Details

Add to My Shelf

Add to a Book Club

Gentle Falls The Bakula by: Sudha Murthy (ISBN : 9780143103776)

5 Reviews

‘Shrikant was restless . . . Holding a bakula flower in his palm, he was wondering why he was..More Details

Add to My Shelf

Add to a Book Club

More books By Sudha Murthy

2 Comments

Write a Comment

Community Comments

keshav solanki

July 11th 2012,4:23 AM

Shudha Murti's Initial Days and Early Career Sudha Murty In her early days, Sudha Murty was a computer scientist and an engineer. She was born in the year 1950 in the ... More details

Shudha Murti's Initial Days and Early Career

Sudha Murty

In her early days, Sudha Murty was a computer scientist and an engineer. She was born in the year 1950 in the district of Shiggaon in Karnataka.

Sudha Murty scored the highest marks in SSLC (Xth grade) in 1966 from New Education Society Girls English School, Hubli .

Sudha Murthy did her engineering degree from BVB College of Engineering in Hubli. Placed as a topper in the state of Karnataka, she went on to get a medal from the CM for her accomplishment. After completing her Masters in the subject of Computer Science from IISc, Bangalore, she repeated her feat and topped her class, to receive yet another medal from the Engineers Institute.

Sudha was the first computer engineer employed by the company Tata Motors. She also initiated a bold move to introduce computer and library facilities in all schools in Karnataka. She taught computer science and started writing fiction with her first book ‘Dollar Sose’. This book was written in Kannada and later translated to English, and it was even converted into a television serial in 2001 titled ‘Dollar Bahu’.

Career
Worked at TELCO as a Development Engineer in Pune, Mumbai and Jamshedpur and later joined Walchand Group of Industries at Pune as Senior Systems Analyst.
Involved in the development of Infosys Technologies Ltd., in various capacities & worked as HoD for Computer Science in a reputed college of Bangalore University
In 1996, started Infosys Foundation & till date has been the Trustee of Infosys Foundation & a Visiting Professor at the PG Center of a reputed college of Bangalore University
Written and published 13 books - out of which, two are travellogues, two technical books, six novels and three educative books.
Awards To Name A Few
Gold Medal from the Indian Institute of Engineers, India for having secured the I Rank in MTech of all the branches of Engineering
Silver Medal from the then Chief Minister of Karnataka Sri Devaraj Urs, for securing the highest marks in BE of all the Universities of Engineering in Karnataka
Cash award for having secured the highest marks in SSLC
C S Desai Prize for standing first in the University Exams of Karnataka
Youth Service Department Prize from Government of Karnataka, for having been the outstanding engineering student of Karnataka
Best Teacher Award in 1995 from the Rotary Club of Bangalore
National Award from Public Relation Society of India for outstanding Social Service to the Society
'Attimabbe' award for her technical book in Kannada ý¯Œ¯ î®±N®Ê¢S¯T N®ºy®½ãhŠ (Shalae Makale Gagi Computer - meaning computers for school children)
Award for Excellent Social Service by Rotary South - Hubli
'Karnataka Rajyotsava' State Award for the year 2000, for achievement in the field of literature and social work
'Ojaswini' award for excellent social worker for the year 2000
'Millenium Mahila Shiromani' award
Voted as Woman of the Year by RadioCity [Bangalore FM station] on International Women's Day [2002]
Raja-Lakshmi Award 2004 in recognition of her contribution to social work.

Sudha Murthy and Her Books

Being a fiction writer as well, Sudha Murthy has written quite a few stories, which have mostly been released by the renowned publisher Penguin Books. These stories generally have a theme of general and common life in India, and her ideas regarding donation, realisation and hospitality. Some famous stories written by her include:

How I Taught My Grandmother To Read
Old Man and His God
Gently Falls The Bakula
The Accolades Galore

In November 2004, Sudha Murty was awarded the Raja-Lakshmi Award by the Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation (based in Chennai) for her exemplary efforts in contributing to the society. In the year 2006, she was given the prestigious Padma Shri award, an award of great honour from the Indian Government and she also went on to receive a doctorate from the Sathyabama University in Chennai . Her stories have also been converted to Assamese by Anjan Sharma.

Her Personal Life

The couple, Sudha and Narayana Murthy are blessed with two kids, Akshata and Rohan. Her daughter Akshata married Rishi Sunak, her batch mate from Stanford. Akshata was previously working at a firm dealing in venture capital, Siderian Ventures, and Rishi is a British citizen with Indian roots. He partners a hedge-fund involved in charity in the UK. Hide details

keshav solanki

July 11th 2012,4:20 AM

An excellent and Great Love Story of Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder) and Sudha (From Sudha's Autobiography) An Inspiring Love story,, its worth, Read it !! Love Stor... More details

An excellent and Great Love Story of Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder) and Sudha (From Sudha's Autobiography)

An Inspiring Love story,, its worth, Read it !!

Love Story of Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder) and Sudha (From Sudha's Autobiography)

It was in Pune that I met Narayan Murty through my friend Prasanna who is now the Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco(TataMotors). Most of the books that Prasanna lent me had Murty's name on them which meant that I had a preconceived image of the man. Contrary to expectation, Murty was shy,bespectacled and an introvert. When he invited us for dinner. I was a bit taken aback as I thought the young man was making a very fast move. I refused since I was the only girl in the group. But Murty was relentless and we all decided to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30 p.m .. at Green Fields hotel on the Main Road ,Pune.

The next day I went there at 7' o ! clock since I had to go to the tailor near the hotel. And what do I see? Mr. Murty waiting in front of the hotel and it was only seven. Till today, Murty maintains that I had mentioned (consciously!) that I would be going to the tailor at 7 so that I could meet him... And I maintain that I did not say any such thing consciously or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty as anything other than a friend at that stage. We have agreed to disagree on this matter.

Soon, we became friends. Our conversations were filled with Murty's experiences abroad and the books that he has read. My friends insisted that Murty as trying to impress me because he was interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty said, I want to tell you something. I knew this as it. It was coming. He said, I am 5'4" tall. I come from a lower middle class family. I can never become rich in my life an! d I can never give you any riches. You are beautiful, bright, and intelligent and you can get anyone you want. But will you marry me? I asked Murty to give me some time for an answer. My father didn't want me to marry a wannabe politician, (a communist at that) who didn't have a steady job and wanted to build an orphanage...

When I went to Hubli I told my parents about Murty and his proposal. My mother was positive since Murty was also from Karnataka, seemed intelligent and comes from a good family. But my father asked: What's his job, his salary, his qualifications etc? Murty was working as a research assistant and was earning less than me. He was willing to go dutch with me on our outings. My parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day at10 a. m sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can I trust a man to take care of my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment, asked my father.

At 12noon Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay , was stuck in a traffic jam on the ghats, so he hired a taxi(though it was very expensive for him) to meet his would-be father-in-law. Father was unimpressed. My father asked him what he wanted to become in life.

Murty said he wanted to become a politician in the communist party and wanted to open an orphanage. My father gave his verdict. NO. I don't want my daughter to marry somebody who wants to become a communist and then open an orphanage when he himself didn't have money to support his family.

Ironically, today, I have opened many orphanages something, which Murty wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking towards Murty which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry Murty because he is an honest man. He proposed to me highlighting the negatives in his life.. I promised my father that I will not marry Murty without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot marry anybody else. My father said he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady job. But Murty refused saying he will not do things in life because somebody wanted him to. So, I was caught between the two most important people in my life.

The stalemate continued for three years during which our courtship took us to every restaurant and cinema hall in Pune. In those days, Murty was always broke. Moreover, he didn't earn much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd., one of the world's most reputed companies. He always owed me money. We used to go for dinner and he would say, I don't have money with me, you pay my share, I will return it to you later. For three years I maintained a book on Murty's debt to me.. No, he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after my wedding.

The amount was a little over Rs 4000. During this interim period Murty quit his job as research assistant and started his own software business. Now, I had to pay his salary too! Towards the late 70s computers were entering India in a big way.

During the fag end of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General Manager at Patni computers in Bombay .. But before he joined the company he wanted to marry me since he was to go on training to the US after joining. My father gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now.

WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTY'S HOUSE IN BANGALORE ON FEBRUARY 10, 1978 WITH ONLY OUR TWO FAMILIES PRESENT.I GOT MY FIRST SILK SARI. THE WEDDING EXPENSES CAME TO ONLY RS 800 (US $17) WITH MURTY AND I POOLING IN RS 400 EACH..

I went to the US with Murty after marriage. Murty encouraged me to see America on my own because I loved travelling. I toured America for three months on backpack and had interesting experiences which will remain fresh in my mind forever. Like the time when the New York police took me into custody because they thought I was an Italian trafficking drugs in Harlem . Or the time when I spent the night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with an old couple. Murty panicked because he couldn't get a response from my hotel room even at midnight. He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.

IN 1981 MURTY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD A VISION AND ZERO CAPITAL...initially I was very apprehensive about Murty getting into business. We did not have any business background ... Moreover we were living a comfortable life in Bombay with a regular pay check and I didn't want to rock the boat. But Murty was passionate about creating good quality software. I decided to support him. Typical of Murty, he just had a dream and no money. So I gave him Rs 10,000 which I had saved for a rainy day, without his knowledge and told him, This is all I have. Take it. I give you three years sabbatical leave. I will take care of the
financial needs of our house. You go and chase your dreams without any worry. But you
have only three years!

Murty and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981,with enormous interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with Murty. We bought a small house on loan which also became the Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook-cum-programmer. I also took up a job as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of Industries to support the house.

In 1983 Infosys got their first client, MICO, in Bangalore . Murty moved to Bangalore and stayed with his mother while I went to Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan. Ten days after my son was born, Murty left for the US on project work. I saw him only after a year, as I was unable to join Murty in the US because my son had infantile eczema, an allergy to vaccinations. So for more than a year I did not step outside our home for fear of my son contracting an infection. It was only after Rohan got all his vaccinations that I came to Bangalore where we rented a small house in Jayanagar and rented another house as Infosys headquarters. My father
presented Murty a scooter to commute. I once again became a cook, programmer, clerk,
secretary, office assistant et al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and his wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini babysat my son, I wrote programs for Infosys. There was no car, no phone, and just two kids and a bunch of us working hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys was taking shape. It was not only me but also the wives of other partners too who gave their unstinted support. We all knew that our men were trying to build something good.

It was like a big joint family,taking care and looking out for one another. I still remember Sudha Gopalakrishna looking after my daughter Akshata with all care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it very clear that it would either be me or him working at Infosys. Never the two of us together... I was involved with Infosys initially.

Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty said he did not want a husband and wife team at Infosys. I was shocked since I had the relevant experience and technical qualifications. He said, Sudha if you want to work with Infosys, I will withdraw, happily. I was pained to know that I will not be involved in the company my husband was building and that I would have to give up a job that I am qualified to do and love doing.

It took me a couple of days to grasp the reason behind Murty's request..I realized that to make Infosys a success one had to give one's 100 percent. One had to be focussed on it alone with no other distractions. If the two of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then what would happen to our home and our children? One of us had to take care of our home while the other took care of Infosys.

I opted to be a homemaker, after all Infosys was Murty's dream. It was a big sacrifice but it was one that had to be made. Even today, Murty says, Sudha, I stepped on your career to make mine. You are responsible for my success.

That's the Power of Love.
Every man needs a woman to motivate him and to give him a reason to live

Attribution: http://www.citehr.com/105519-story-sudha-murthy.html#ixzz20Iv4xizj Hide details

Also See

Sudha Murthy's Bio page

Books by Sudha Murthy

Sudha Murthy's Comment

Notable Works:

How I Taught My Grandmother To Read & Other Stories,Old Man And His God,Magic Drum & other Favourite Stories,Fasal Cut,A Wedding in Russia,Sweet Hospitality

Awards Won:

Raja-Lakshmi Award,
Padma Shri