Of granddaughters, a brain ‘faster than other devices’ and writing for children: Sudha Murty on new book

PTI, Aug 28, 2024, 2:55 PM IST

New Delhi: When it comes to “insightful feedback” for her books on children, Sudha Murty says she would choose young readers in Bengaluru and other Indian cities over her own London-based granddaughters who may not relate quite as much.

Her granddaughters, both pre-teens, find her books “extremely simple” and are more into reading English classics, said Murty, who has just come out with “Grandpa’s Bag of Stories”, a sequel to “Grandparents’ Bag of Stories” (2020) and “Grandma’s Bag of Stories” (2015).

“I don’t meet them (granddaughters) as often as I meet other children. And they cannot relate so much about Indian circumstances, whereas my children in India can relate a lot more. So I think children, those brought up in India, give me a lot more insightful feedback than my grandchildren,” the philanthropist, MP and author told PTI. Murty’s daughter Akshata is married to former British prime minister Rishi Sunak. The couple has two daughters, Anoushka and Krishna.

For Murty, who turned 74 this month, writing means happiness. And with 46 books to her credit — 300 titles including the translations into 23 Indian languages — she clearly can’t get enough of it.

In her latest, the usually reticent ‘Ajja’ (grandfather in Kannada) — the character inspired by her husband and industrialist N R Narayana Murthy – is transformed into a vivid storyteller.

Adept in writing various genres, including novels and travelogues, Murty’s true skill lies in engaging young readers with creative stories for which she has a “simple” process in place.

“I become a child and think like one while writing stories. So what is that a child likes in a story: humour, good things, and no sad endings. As an adult I should give some moral lesson in every story without telling them it is one.

“If you tell them it is a moral story, they will skip the page, they think it is one of those moral science classes… The process should be simple, not repetitive, not too much description, not too many conversations. And, at last, I should enjoy it,” Murty told PTI.

Born in 1950 in a middle-class family in Hubli, Karnataka, Murty, an engineer and teacher, went on to co-found IT behemoth Infosys with her husband.

The philanthropist and former chairperson of Infosys Foundation was nominated by the president to the Rajya Sabha in March this year on the eve of International Women’s Day.

She started her writing career in 1980 with “Atlanticadacheyinda”, a travelogue in Kannada, and was in her early 50s when her first English book, “Wise and Otherwise”, was published in 2000.

Her literary work has been recognised through multiple awards, including the Sahitya Academy Award in 2023, the RK Narayan Award for Literature in 2006, and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award in 2020, among others.

However, it is the feedback of the children, those she consults with after writing her initial draft, that matters to her the most.

“If I ask adults, they are like, ‘Mrs Murty, Narayana Murthy’s wife, author’. So they have reservations about telling me the truth. Children are not like that, they are not biased. They simply read and tell me where I am wrong, where I am right, and where I have to improve. I correct it in case that is required,” she noted.

A voracious reader, who doesn’t sleep until she reads at least 150-200 pages, Murty said she is not committed to writing every day – quite unlike many authors. In fact, she said it has been six months since she put pen to paper.

Her reason: “Creation is organic, wait and let it grow by itself.” “I can never do: ‘I’ll write 200 lines every day’. The stories will remain in my mind, and until they are really perfect… that I can see the entire story in front of me like a movie, frame by frame I will not write, even if it takes a year or two for me to write,” she added.

Detailing her writing process, the author said she usually dictates the storyline and doesn’t write it herself as her “CPU (brain) is faster than other devices”.

“When the stories are ready in my mind then they are so fast that I cannot sit on a computer and type. I tell somebody, ‘I would go on talking, you should go on typing’. Because if I go on typing, I’ll be slow and my ideas are fast.

“After two-three months, I’ll take them out and do the repair work (editing),” she explained.

Her first book — “Coming Home” — of the bestselling children’s book series ‘The Gopi Diaries’ was written in less than four hours.

Discussing her new role as Rajya Sabha MP, Murty said she is determined to have 100 per cent attendance and has diligently taken classes as part of the crash courses for the new parliamentarians.

“I consider this as an opportunity to serve the country in a more direct way. I feel I am very fortunate to get this kind of opportunity at 74. How many people will get it? How many people will listen to them? I have both, people listening to me — at least I believe that — and I have got a wider platform to give my suggestions,” she said.

When asked if she wants someone in her family to take advantage of the writing gene and pick up writing as a career, Murty, with a joke always up her sleeve, said, “Nothing is hereditary in genes, other than diseases”.

“Diabetic is hereditary, blood pressure is hereditary. Not writing. My grandchildren, of course they see me writing, and the younger one was telling me she wants to be an author. But they are 11-12 years old, so I don’t take them seriously.

“If they want to write, if that gives them happiness, let them do it… My joy is my joy, my marathon is my marathon. Their life is different,” she added.

“Grandpa’s Bag of Stories” is dedicated to toddler Ekagrah Murty, her son Rohan Murty’s only child.

Published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI), “Grandpa’s Bag of Stories” is a collection of immersive, captivating and imaginary tales woven by newly- found storyteller ‘Ajja’ amidst the snow-capped mountains and picturesque backdrop of Mayawati in Uttarakhand.