I really do not know how to define a real feminist.
— Sudha Murty
Education, leading to financial independence, has surely made women more empowered.
I was a very naughty kid, who'd say 'I'd write tomorrow.'
My grandfather was a history teacher, one reason the subject has been an integral part of my life.
I believe in God. I am not ritualistic but I do pray every day.
Most people share a yearning to be something bigger than them. Something they can be excited about and something that will challenge them to go beyond being average.
Planning things is neither my cup of tea nor my choice. Same applies to books too.
I hail from a middle class educated family and now that God is kind to me by giving me enough money, I want to share it with others.
We, the authors, want people to buy books. That is the only way we can earn - from our royality.
I happily watch movies made on the life and achievement of others.
During my younger days, we didn't have digital media or electronic gadgets the way we do now. So the best part of my day was the one I spent either in listening to stories from my elders or reading them.
When Rajesh Khanna died, I cried so much, my husband was confused.
I work everyday, but every day is a holiday for me because I enjoy my work.
Professionally, my first book came out at the age of 29, where I wrote about my experiences of backpacking in U.S. on a frugal budget.
I watch movies regularly, especially Kannada films.
Women should realise their strength and set goals.
When there is money, there is also greed. Everyone wants to talk to you when there is money. Only if you have the passion for it, you must become a philanthropist, else it'll become a headache.
In life's journey, we all meet strange people and undergo many experiences that touch us and sometimes even change us.
When something comes to my mind, I finish a book within 15-20 days.
Children require affection. That's very important.
I am a creative person and watching a movie is like writing a story. So when I see a movie, I also see the editing, the music, the camera angles, etc.
It's lovely to write for the youngsters because through your story, you can teach them the lessons of life.
Exceptional leaders don't impart just vision, rather they cultivate the emergence of vision.
There have been plenty of experiences that I wished to write about but found them to be somewhat similar to each other. Later I realised that though they are of similar nature but each of them has changed me in a different way.
In my work, 80 per cent of the time people cheat, they run away with money, they lie but there are good things too. And I choose to write about the good and positive things.
I was in Kashi to take the holy dip, and when you go to Kashi you have to give up something that you enjoy the most. I gave up shopping, particularly sarees, from thereon. I now only buy the essential items.
I belong to a teachers' family and writing was my expression.
When we started out, I kept wondering, what are the rules of philanthropy? And it turns out that there are rules for it. And nobody could talk about that. There is no set formula for this because anything with a human being cannot have a formula.
If I wasn't an engineer, I would have been a film journalist.
What separates old from the young is experience and patience.
Coming from a middle-class background of Northern Karnataka, where good education was the only insurance policy, I started reading and writing very early.
So, as a child in school, I used to write essays on how I spent my holiday or about a visit to a temple. I used to document small things and enjoyed the process of writing even then.
I feel my thoughts flow freely when I write in Kannada.
Every philanthropist has a soft corner for one issue. For me it is health, because my father was a doctor.
I am a complete movie buff who still prefers to go for the late night show and seldom watch movies at home.
Frankly, there is not much demand from home and I don't socialise much - no partying, get-togethers and very rare wedding appearances.
Sometimes, my reading choices are defined by the place I'm travelling next.
Everything I write is mostly relatable to everyone and since everyone cannot write, they feel like Sudha Murthy is writing their story. I am your writer next-door.
Nobody owns the money he/she possesses. They hold it just as a trustee.
The day I stopped drinking milk' is a very sensitive story telling the tale of how we forget what is 'normal' for us falls under the category of 'expensive' or 'unaffordable' for middle or poor class.
There were instances when I felt cheated because my feeling of social service was neither acknowledged or reciprocated by the second party. It is with growing age and experience that I realised, I was doing it for myself and not for others. Hence, I found my happiness and satisfaction in it.
I lost many friendships because of my wealth. When my friends met me, they had an agenda in mind. Just because I had money, they expected one thing or the other from me, which they didn't before.
Increasing the sale of liquor may benefit the government in terms of revenue. But liquor is a social evil, and its biggest victims are women and their children.
I don't want to associate my social work with Infosys, money, etc.
I wanted to become an engineer and I believed in myself. I was the lone girl to enrol for engineering studies, then. But the college provided me an opportunity to excel in my life.
Whenever you take on a project, there should be an exit policy. You cannot help people forever.
People often ask me how I get so many unique experiences while they get none. I tell them the difference is in the sensitivity. I can observe those small emotions, which may look trivial to others.
I believe people from the film industry, musicians, dancers, artists and writers are all internally connected. The form of expression externally may vary, but we are connected internally.
To write, I think it is very important to read. The more you read, the more you know the techniques of writing.
For me, writing in English is not an easy task.
