Sudha Murthy is an Indian engineering teacher, author, and social worker who was born on August 19, 1950. She also operates as the chair of the Infosys Foundation. The Indian Government awarded her the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for her community assistance. She eventually became a vital part and the backbone of Infosys[1]. Sudha Murthy started off her carrier in the field of computer science and engineering, but she as also established Murthy Classical Library of India at Harvard University, participated in rural development efforts, supported the movement to provide computer and library facilities to all Karnataka ( a state in India) government schools.
Sudha Murthy was born on August 19, 1950, in Shiggaon, Karnataka, to a Brahmin family. Her father, Dr. R.H. Kulkarni, a physician, and mother, Vimala Kulkarni, raised Sudha and her three siblings and supported her in her aspirations since she was a child. Early on, she was inspired with a desire to do something special by her family's educated environment. Srinivas Kulkarni, Sudha Murthy's brother, is a well-known astronomer who was awarded the Dan David Prize in 2017. Some of her writings were inspired by her early life experiences and her love for her grandma. Some examples can be "How I taught my Grandmother to read", " The magic of the lost temple" etc.[2]
Sudha Murthy earned a B.Eng. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology , placing first in her class and receiving a gold medal from then-Karnataka Chief Minister B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology.
During her time at TELCO in Pune, Sudha Murthy met N. R. Narayana Murthy ( CEO of Infosys) and both of them got married. The couple had two children Akshata and Rohan . Her daughter Akshata married Rishi Sunak, who was her Stanford classmate. Sunak was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom in 2020. Murthy stated her life was influenced by the advice she received from her ,other that never to hoard things in life, be it money, clothes, food , because that only comes out from a place of insecurity. she reminded her that money does not belong to anyone. "You are the sole trustee of money, and it is always changing hands."[3]. Murthy often says the more she got rich , the more she realized one should not have excess money.
During 1960's Engineering was considered such a "Men" thing that there weren't even toilets available for women in the college campus. Being the only female in 150 students, Her classmates used spilled ink on her chair and paper airplanes were being thrown her way. She was insulted for wearing saree ( an Indian traditional dress), not allowed to have canteen food and most of the time was pressurized to quit college and marry.. Everyone knew her marks before the exam results were announced and her scores were the first thing up on the wall. She was the first female engineer in TELCO (probably in India as well).While applying for the position at TELCO, she found a footnote that said ‘female candidates need not apply’, that she did not appreciate and wrote to JRD Tata raising the issue of “men only” gender bias at TELCO, asking him how a prime and innovative house like the Tatas, “which always thought ahead of time, could put such a restriction.”
Sudha Murthy in one of her interviews says, that the inspiration behind writing so many books were, laughs of the children. her thought process is to think like a child in order to write that. she states , It’s lovely to write for the youngsters because through your story, you can teach them the lessons of life.[4] Since , she was brought up in an era where there were no television and no electronic gadgets. She was really interested in learning about mythology. She started to read about mythology from different countries and Mahabharta & Ramayana from India as well. This became her inspiration to write mythological books
Her books in English:
Here, There, Everywhere
Magic of the Lost Temple
The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk
The Upside Down King
The Man from the Egg
The Magic Drum and other favorite stories
one of her booksWise and Otherwise
Something Happened on the Way To Heavens
Gently Falls The Bakula
House of Cards
The Daughter From A Wishing Tree
The Old Man And His God
How The Sea Became Salty
The magic of the lost temple
The Bird with the Golden Wings
How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and other stories
Sudha murthy was Insipred from here own struggles & thus she worked alot towards in women empowerment, she stood up against gender bias and wanted to spread education as much as she can. She works for the betterment of society and the development of rural areas. She brought computer education and library services to government-funded schools. She also taught Computer Science in additional to her social work. She is also a famous novelist who has written numerous works of fiction. She is also involved in the Gates Foundation's healthcare programs. Sudha Murthy is well-known for her philanthropic efforts. Her mission is to empower women. She raises awareness about rural education, public cleanliness, poverty alleviation, and a variety of other topics. She understands the importance of keeping India clean, which is why she is constructing public restrooms. She has also been dedicated to assisting people in flood-affected areas.[5].
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