Sudha Murty

Sudha Murty (née Kulkarni; born 19 August 1950) is an Indian educator, author and philanthropist who is chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. She is married to the co-founder of Infosys, N. R. Narayana Murty. Murty was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for social work by the Government of India in 2006.[1] Later in 2023, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India.[2]

Sudha Murthy
Murty in April 2023
Born
Sudha Kulkarni

(1950-08-19) 19 August 1950
Shiggaon, Bombay State (present-day Karnataka), India
Alma mater
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Occupation(s)Chairperson of Infosys Foundation
Children's writer
Notable work
SpouseN. R. Narayana Murty
ChildrenAkshata Murty and Rohan Murty
RelativesRishi Sunak (son-in-law)
AwardsPadma Shri
Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award
Padma Bhushan

Sudha Murty began her professional career in computer science and engineering. She is a member of the public health care initiatives of the Gates Foundation.[3][4] She has founded several orphanages, participated in rural development efforts, supported the movement to provide all Karnataka government schools with computer and library facilities, and established Murty Classical Library of India at Harvard University.[5][6][7][8][9]

Murty is best known for her philanthropy and her contribution to literature in Kannada and English. Dollar Bahu (lit. 'Dollar Daughter-in-Law'), a novel originally authored by her in Kannada and later translated into English as Dollar Bahu, was adapted as a televised dramatic series[10] by Zee TV in 2001.[11] Runa (lit. 'Debt'), a story by Sudha Murthy was adapted as a Marathi film, Pitruroon by director Nitish Bhardwaj. Sudha Murthy has also acted in the film[12] as well as a Kannada film Prarthana.[13][14]

Early life and education

Sudha Murty was born to a Kannada -speaking family on 19 August 1950 in Shiggaon, Haveri in Karnataka, India, the daughter of R. H. Kulkarni, a surgeon, and his wife Vimala Kulkarni, a school teacher. She was raised by her parents and maternal grandparents. These childhood experiences form the historical basis for her first notable work entitled How I Taught My Grandmother to Read, Wise and Otherwise and Other Stories.[15] Murty completed a BEng in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology (now known as KLE Technological University), and then a MEng in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science[16][17]

Career

Sudha Murty became the first female engineer hired at India's largest auto manufacturer TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO).[18] She joined the company as a Development Engineer in Pune and then worked in Mumbai & Jamshedpur as well. She had written a postcard to the company's Chairman complaining of the "men only" gender bias at TELCO. As a result, she was granted a special interview and hired immediately.[19][17] She later joined Walchand Group of Industries at Pune as Senior Systems Analyst.

In 1996, she started Infosys Foundation and to date has been the Trustee of Infosys Foundation and a Visiting Professor at the PG Center of Bangalore University. She also taught at Christ University.[20]

Sudha Murty has written and published many books which include novels, non-fiction, travelogues, technical books, and memoirs. Her books have been translated into all major Indian languages. She is also a columnist for English and Kannada newspapers.[21]

Philanthropy
Main article: Infosys Foundation
Sudha Murty at the Infosys Foundation

Murty's Infosys Foundation is a public charitable trust founded in 1996.[22]

Personal life

Sudha Murty married N. R. Narayana Murthy[23] while employed as an engineer at TELCO in Pune.[24] The couple have two children, including fashion designer Akshata Murty, who is married to the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Her siblings include Caltech astrophysicist Shrinivas Kulkarni and Jaishree Deshpande (wife of Gururaj Deshpande) who co-founded the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT

Awards
Droupadi Murmu presenting the Padma Bhushan Award to Dr. (Smt.) Sudha Murthy
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam presenting the Padma Shri Award to Dr. (Smt.) Sudha Murthy
Murthy receiving the Raja Lakshmi Award

Bibliography

Books

Kannada

  • Computer lokadalli (2000)
  • Hakkiya Teradali (2003)
  • Guttondu Heluve (2006)
  • Saamaanyralli Asaamaanyaru (2006)
  • Athirikthe (2007)
  • Tumula (2007)
  • Yashasvi (2007)
  • Runa (2008)
  • Sukeshini Mattu Itara Makkala Kathegalu (2008)
  • Paridhi (2009)
  • Yerilitada Daariyalli (2017)
  • Kaveri inda Mekaangige
  • Nooniya Sahasagalu

Marathi

  • Astitva (2002)

English

  • Wise and Otherwise (2002)
  • Mahashweta (2002)
  • How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and Other Stories (2004)
  • The Old Man And His God (2006)
  • Gently Falls The Bakula (2008)
  • The Bird with Golden Wings (2009)
  • The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk (2012)
  • Grandma's Bag of Stories (2012)
  • House of Cards (2013)
  • Dollar Bahu (2013)
  • The Magic Drum and Other Favorite Stories (2013)
  • The Mother I Never Knew (2014)
  • Something Happened on the Way To Heavens (2014)
  • The Magic of the Lost Temple (2015)
  • The Serpent's Revenge (2016)
  • Three Thousand Stitches (2017)
  • The Man from the Egg (2017)
  • Here, There, Everywhere (2018)
  • The Upside Down King (2018)
  • How The Sea Became Salty (2019)
  • The Daughter From A Wishing Tree (2019)
  • How The Onion got its layers (2020)
  • Grandparents Bag of Stories (2020)
  • The Gopi Diaries: Coming Home (2020)
  • The Gopi Diaries: Finding Love (2021)
  • The Sage With Two Horns (2021)
  • The Gopi Diaries: Growing Up (2022)

See also

References
  1. "Sudha Murty Profile – Write India Season 2 Author". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  2. "Full list of 2023 Padma awards". The Hindu. 25 January 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  3. Ratan Tata, Rahul Dravid on Gates Foundation board Archived 22 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. tata.com. 15 July 2003. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  4. "The Hindu : Gates Foundation's AIDS initiative launched". 31 December 2003. Archived from the original on 31 December 2003. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  5. "Murty family gift establishes Murty Classical Library of India series". Harvard Gazette. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  6. "Murthy, wife gift Harvard $5.2 mn to publish Indian classics – Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  7. R, Prerna (23 January 2011). "Sudha Murthy: Humility personified". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  8. "I'm enjoying my acting stint: Sudha Murthy – The Times of India". 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  9. "Murty Classical Library of India". www.murtylibrary.com. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  10. "Why Sudha Murthy feels men should be better at household work than women". The Times of India.
  11. "The Sunday Tribune – Spectrum – Article". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  12. "Author Murthy makes acting debut with Pitruroon – Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  13. "Sudha Murty makes cameo appearance in Kannada movie". The Economic Times. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  14. "Acting in films isn't easy, says Sudha Murthy after playing cameo in Kannada film". The News Minute. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  15. "About Mrs. Narayan Murthy". nipun.servicespace.org. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  16. "Nobody believed I was an IISc graduate: Sudha Murty". Deccan Chronicle. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  17. "One woman, many roles". The Hindu. 3 July 2015. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  18. Digita, Et now (6 June 2021). "Throwback: When Sudha Murthy's letter to JRD Tata led her to become 1st woman engineer to work for TELCO". timesnownews. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  19. Rana, S Gautam (24 October 2022). "Sudha Murthy still fond of Tatas | Patna News – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  20. "Presenting Harmony's silvers – sparkling lives, success stories, accounts of endurance, courage, grit, and passion". harmonyindia.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  21. "On sanitation and heritage restoration: Sudha Murty, Infosys Foundation". The Economic Times. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  22. Sundar, Pushpa (16 February 2017). Giving with a Thousand Hands: The Changing Face of Indian Philanthropy. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199470686.003.0008. ISBN 978-0-19-947068-6.
  23. Sarkar, Malabika (19 February 2015). "Murty, not Murthy – My husband spells his name wrong, says Sudha Murty". The Telegraph Online. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  24. JRD's words inspired me in philanthropy: Sudha Murthy Archived 22 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. tata.com (23 October 2002). Retrieved on 8 December 2011.
  25. "Raja-Lakshmi Award for Sudha Murty". 15 August 2004. Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  26. "India's Finest". rediff.com.
  27. "Padma Awards Dashboard". padmaawards.gov.in.
  28. "R.K. Narayana's Award for Literature". EconomicTimes. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  29. "Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Awards". Department of Kannada and Culture Official website of Government of Karnataka. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  30. "Santosh Hegde, Sudha Murthy to be conferred honorary doctorate". Deccan Herald. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  31. "Narayana Murthy, Sudha Receive Basava Shree Award". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  32. "Sudha Murthy, Ruskin Bond, Snigdha Poonam among winners of this year's Crossword Book Awards". Scroll.in. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  33. IANS (21 December 2018). "Tharoor, Sudha Murthy, Bond, Soha Ali Khan conferred Crossword Book Awards". Business Standard India. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  34. "IIT Kanpur honours India's national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand with honorary doctorate degree". India Today. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  35. "Full list of 2023 Padma awards". The Hindu. 25 January 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  36. "Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2023" (PDF). sahitya-akademi.gov.in. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  37. Bhalla, Gursharan (2 October 2023). "Sudha Murthy becomes first woman to get Global Indian Award". Indiatimes. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
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