Philanthropy is food, writing is pickle, says Sudha Murty

Movies of actor Ayushmann Khurana, a good spread of piping-hot North Indian food, philanthropy 365 days a year and a story to tell. These are a few of award-winning author Sudha Murty's favourite things.

Philanthropy is food and writing her "pickle", the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation said on Wednesday while delivering the Penguin Annual Lecture 2019.

Once an Engineering teacher, the 65-year-old said she works 365 days a year with the foundation, the philanthropic and CSR arm of Infosys, and writes only when she feels like it.

Infosys Foundation, which comprises a team of "eight people only", has an annual budget of Rs 400 crore. Its work has largely focussed on sectors such as healthcare, education, public hygiene and empowerment of women.

 

"Everyday starting 8 am I am at my foundation's office. I don't take any holidays because I don't think I require one," Murty told the gathering packed into a hall at the Imperial Hotel here.

"On the other hand, writing is something that I do only when I feel that I must write now... it is not that I write two-three hours daily, but when I start writing I don't finish until I stop. So normally writing -- not researching -- takes me 15 days only," she explained.

Known for writing both in English and Kannada, the author has penned novels, technical books, travelogues, collections of short stories and non-fiction pieces, and nine bestselling books for children. Her latest book is ''The Daughter from a Wishing Tree: Unusual Tales from Women in Mythology''.

"Most of what I have written has come from experiences. And I write the truth and truth alone. Of course, there is the art of storytelling involved ... you can't say things directly, you have to make it readable. So in my stories the fact remains as it is, but the periphery I weave," she said.

She also drew an analogy between storytelling and "weaving a cloth".

"If you are a skilled weaver you will not know where the joint came..," she added.

The session was replete with stories -- and stories behind stories -- full of wit and wisdom.

Murty recalled how a poor person she met gave her an important lesson -- money is important but not more than satisfaction. She also remembered a tale of a chance meet with her old student.

"When I met this old student I asked him that I taught you so many things in Computer Science C++, Java and more, what do you remember the most. To which he replied, 'nothing but the stories you told at the end of the class'," she said, much to the amusement of the audience.

Optimistic about the younger generation, who she thinks are "more generous in giving and sharing", Murty said in the next 50 years or so India will see more people coming out and doing philanthropy work.

"The next generation is more large hearted and giving. This is also because they have money to spend, have choices in employment, among other things, unlike the previous generations.

"Now youngsters in my company only, they are always willing to donate for relief work. I get so much money from unknown people. Sometimes I have to say no because I don't require that much at that time," she said.

The self-proclaimed movie buff said her favourite among the new crop of actors is "Andhadhun" actor Ayushmann Khurrana.

" ... When I was young Dilip Kumar was my favourite. Later i would die for Rajesh Khanna, then to some extent Dharmendra, and then Hrithik Roshan was the one I liked. Now I like Ayushmann Khurrana. I like all his movies, 'Badhai Ho', 'Vicky Donor', 'Bala'. Someone who knows him please convey my regards to him," she said like a true fangirl.

For food, she said she doesn't like south Indian and settles for north Indian only -- but without paneer.

Luminaries who have delivered the Penguin Annual Lecture since its inception in 2007 include journalist and writer Thomas Friedman, Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen, spiritual leader Dalai Lama, cinema superstar Amitabh Bachchan, bestselling author Dan Brown and author of the popular Wimpy Kid series Jeff Kinney.