A story of how money corrupts the way people look at one another and how it can almost tear a family apart Vinuta marries Girish, a bank clerk, and starts living with his family in Bangalore. She adjusts to her new family well, looking after her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law Gouramma, not taking to heart her mother-in-law’s constant picking. But when Girish’s elder brother Chandru, who is in the US, decides to get married, Vinuta has to listen to the constant comparisons made between her and Chandru’s wife, the ‘Dollar Bahu’, whose husband earns the valuable dollars that has brought the family its recent affluence. Vinuta slowly loses her peace of mind and health. Then Gouramma decides to visit her US-based son and daughter-in-law. Once there, she sees how liberating life can be, away from the strict norms that govern Indian middle-class life. But she also begins to understand that mere dollars cannot buy the love and respect that she gets as her due back in India. Does Gouramma forge a new relationship with Vinuta and can Vinuta forgive and forget the past?
Archives: Books
Gently Falls The Bakula
What is more important: a successful career or a happy marriage?
In the small town of Hubli, Shrikant discovers that he is attracted to his plain-looking but charming neighbour Shrimati, who always does better than him in the school exams. Shrimati too falls in love with the amiable and handsome Shrikant and the two get married. Shrikant joins an IT company and starts rapidly climbing the corporate ladder. He works relentlessly and reaches the pinnacle of his industry, while Shrimati abandons her academic aspirations and becomes his uncomplaining shasow, silently fulfilling her duties as a corporate leader’s wife. But one day, while talking to an old professor, she starts examining what she has done with her life and realizes it is dismally empty…
Gently Falls the Bakula is the story of a marriage that loses its way as ambition and self-interest take their toll. Written nearly three decades ago, Sudha Murty’s first novel remains startlingly relevant in its scrutiny of modern values and work ethics.
The Mother I Never Knew
What secrets lurk in a family’s past—and how important are they in the here and now?
Sudha Murty’s new book comprises two novellas that explore two quests by two different men—both for mothers they never knew they had.
Venkatesh, a bank manager, stumbles upon his lookalike one fine day. When he probes further, he discovers his father’s hidden past, which includes an abandoned wife and child. Ventakesh is determined to make amends to his impoverished stepmother—but how can he repay his father’s debt?
Mukesh, a young man, is shocked to realize after his father’s death that he was actually adopted. He sets out to find his biological mother, but the deeper he delves, the more confused he is about where his loyalties should lie: with the mother who gave birth to him, or with the mother who brought him up.
The Mother I Never Knew is a poignant, dramatic book that reaches deep into the human heart to reveal what we really feel about those closest to us.
House Of Cards
House of Cards is the story of Mridula, a bright young woman with enormous enthusiasm for life who hails from a Karnataka village. A chance meeting with Sanjay, a talented but impoverished doctor, leads to love and the couple marry and settle in Bangalore. The more Mridula sees of the world, the more she realizes how selfish and materialistic people can be, but she does not take the ups and downs of life to heart and lives each day with positive energy. Trouble brews when Sanjay quits his government job and starts an immensely successful private practice. With affluence comes the neverending ambition for more and the inevitable slide into corrupt practices. For a long time, Mridula has no idea that Sanjay has sold his soul. When the truth hits her, she has no recourse but to walk out on him, but can she really find a space of her own? This intricately woven novel explores human relationships in telling detail and holds up a mirror to our society with candour and with conviction.
Something Happened On The Way To Heaven
The inspiring true stories of the interesting people who inhabit the pages of Sudha Murty’s books leave an indelible impression on us. But the books are able to chronicle the stories of only the men and women Mrs Murty has actually come across herself in the course of her social work. There must be so many more wonderful stories that many others have to share. Something Happened on the Way to Heaven is a collection of twenty such memorable true life stories. Handpicked by Sudha Murty from a contest run by Penguin, they capture the hope, faith, kindness and joy that life is full of, even as we make our way through the daily grind. Moving and uplifting, this is an anthology that will engross and delight every reader who believes in the goodness of the human heart.
The Bird With Golden Wings
What would you do if a bird with golden wings alighted on your terrace and offered you fabulous riches?
A poor little girl is rewarded with lovely gifts when she takes pity on a hungry bird and feeds it all the rice she has, but what happens when the girl’s greedy, nosy neighbour hears the story and tries to get bigger and better gifts for herself? Why did the once sweet sea water turn salty? How did it happen that the learned teacher forgot all his lessons and had to be helped out by the school cook? And what did the king do so that the people of his kingdom did not come to know that he has horrible donkey ears hidden under his turban?
Sudha Murty’s new, enchanting collection of stories bubbles over with fun. Delightful colour illustrations bring to life tales of magical creatures, princesses and kings, ordinary witty men and women in a book that will bring hours of joy to readers young and old.
The Man From The Egg
Did you know that Brahma once had five faces?
Why do snakes have a forked tongue?
Do gods cheat?
Why does Shiva sport a crescent moon on his head?
The Trinity, consisting of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, is the omnipresent trio responsible for the survival of the human race and the world as we know it. They are popular deities of worship all over India, but what remain largely unknown are some of their extraordinary stories.
Award-winning author Sudha Murty walks by your side, weaving enchanting tales of the three most powerful gods from the ancient world. Each story will take you back to a magical time when people could teleport, animals could fly and reincarnation was simply a fact of life.
Three Thousand Stitches
So often, it’s the simplest acts of courage that touch the lives of others. Sudha Murty-through the exceptional work of the Infosys Foundation as well as through her own youth, family life and travels-encounters many such stories . . . and she tells them here in her characteristically clear-eyed, warm-hearted way. She talks candidly about the meaningful impact of her work in the devadasi community, her trials and tribulations as the only female student in her engineering college and the unexpected and inspiring consequences of her father’s kindness. From the quiet joy of discovering the reach of Indian cinema and the origins of Indian vegetables to the shallowness of judging others based on appearances, these are everyday struggles and victories, large and small.
Unmasking both the beauty and ugliness of human nature, each of the real-life stories in this collection is reflective of a life lived with grace.
A must-read for children and everyone alike.
How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and Other Stories
Features more than 20 handpicked gems by Sudha Murty
Includes popular stories like ‘Heart of Gold’, ‘The Rainy Day’ and ‘Gowramma’s Letter’
What do you do when your grandmother asks you to teach her the alphabet? Or the President of India takes you on a train ride with him? Or your teacher gives you more marks than you deserve?
These are just some of the questions you will find answered in this delightful collection of stories recounting real-life incidents from the life of Sudha Murty-teacher, social worker and bestselling writer. There is the engaging story about one of her students who played truant from school. The account of how her mother’s advice to save money came in handy when she wanted to help her husband start a software company, and the heart-warming tale of the promise she made-and fulfilled-to her grandfather, to ensure that her little village library would always be well supplied with books.
Funny, spirited and inspiring, each of these stories teaches a valuable lesson about the importance of doing what you believe is right and having the courage to realize your dreams.
The Brotherhood in Saffron
Tracing the growth of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since its formation in the mid-1920s, the authors examine its ideology and training system. As the first significant book on its internal workings, this book is the prequel to RSS: A View to the Inside. It was for the first time in this book that readers received a glimpse into the inner workings of the RSS. Three decades later, the RSS is one of the most significant cultural organizations in India, making this book a powerful and important read.