SUDHA MURTHY
Sudha Murthy is an Indian social worker and author. Murthy began her professional career as a computer scientist and engineer. She is the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation and a member of public health care initiatives of the Gates Foundation. 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 the 'The Murthy Classical Library of India' at Harvard University. Murthy also teaches computer science and composes fiction. Dollar Sose (English: Dollar Daughter-in-Law), a novel originally authored by her in Kannada and later translated into English as Dollar Bahu, in 2001. Murthy has also acted in Marathi film Pitruroon and Kannada film Prarthana.
EARLY LIFE
Sudha Murthy was born on 19 August 1950, in Shiggaon in northern Karnataka, India. The daughter of a famous surgeon Dr. R.H. Kulkarni, Murty and her siblings were 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 & Other Stories’. Two institutions of higher learning, the H.R. Kadim Diwan Building housing the Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) department at IIT Kanpur and the Narayan Rao Melgiri Memorial National Law Library at NLSIU, were both endowed and inaugurated by the Infosys Foundation.
Murthy completed B.E. in Electrical Engineering from the B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology, standing first in her class and receiving a gold medal from the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Thereafter, she completed an M.E. in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science, standing first in her class and receiving a gold medal from the Indian Institute of Engineers.
After graduation, Murthy became the first female engineer hired at India's largest auto manufacturer TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company or TELCO. Murthy 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. She met N.R. Narayana Murthy while employed as an engineer at TELCO in Pune, and the two got married.
INFOSYS FOUNDATION
Murthy who heads as the chairperson of Infosys Foundation as well as the seed investor behind Infosys and venture capital firm Catamaran Ventures.
AWARDS
In 2004, Murthy was presented with the Raja-Lakshmi Award "in recognition of her outstanding contribution to social work" by the Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation in Chennai.
In 2006, Murthy was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest-ranking civilian award from the Government of India, and received an honorary doctorate for her contributions in the spheres of social work, philanthropy, and education.
In 2011, Murthy was conferred honorary LL.D (Doctor of Laws) degrees for their contributions to promote formal legal education and scholarship in India. She was the recipient of the R.K. Narayana's Award for Literature and the Padma Shri in 2006.
WRITINGS
Murthy is a prolific fiction author in Kannada and English. She has published several books, mainly through Penguin, that espouse her philosophical views on charity, hospitality and self-realization through fictional narratives. Some of her notable books in Kannada are Dollar Sose, Runa, Kaveri inda Mekaangige, Hakkiya Teradalli, Athirikthe, Guttondu Heluve. The book ‘How I Taught My Grandmother to Read & Other Stories’ has been translated into 15 languages including Hindi, Marathi and Assamese. Her latest book is ‘The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk’. Other notable books by her are Wise and Otherwise, Old Man and his God and Gently Falls the Bakula.
Sudha Murthy is an Indian social worker and author. Murthy began her professional career as a computer scientist and engineer. She is the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation and a member of public health care initiatives of the Gates Foundation. 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 the 'The Murthy Classical Library of India' at Harvard University. Murthy also teaches computer science and composes fiction. Dollar Sose (English: Dollar Daughter-in-Law), a novel originally authored by her in Kannada and later translated into English as Dollar Bahu, in 2001. Murthy has also acted in Marathi film Pitruroon and Kannada film Prarthana.
EARLY LIFE
Sudha Murthy was born on 19 August 1950, in Shiggaon in northern Karnataka, India. The daughter of a famous surgeon Dr. R.H. Kulkarni, Murty and her siblings were 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 & Other Stories’. Two institutions of higher learning, the H.R. Kadim Diwan Building housing the Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) department at IIT Kanpur and the Narayan Rao Melgiri Memorial National Law Library at NLSIU, were both endowed and inaugurated by the Infosys Foundation.
Murthy completed B.E. in Electrical Engineering from the B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology, standing first in her class and receiving a gold medal from the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Thereafter, she completed an M.E. in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science, standing first in her class and receiving a gold medal from the Indian Institute of Engineers.
After graduation, Murthy became the first female engineer hired at India's largest auto manufacturer TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company or TELCO. Murthy 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. She met N.R. Narayana Murthy while employed as an engineer at TELCO in Pune, and the two got married.
INFOSYS FOUNDATION
Murthy who heads as the chairperson of Infosys Foundation as well as the seed investor behind Infosys and venture capital firm Catamaran Ventures.
AWARDS
In 2004, Murthy was presented with the Raja-Lakshmi Award "in recognition of her outstanding contribution to social work" by the Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation in Chennai.
In 2006, Murthy was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest-ranking civilian award from the Government of India, and received an honorary doctorate for her contributions in the spheres of social work, philanthropy, and education.
In 2011, Murthy was conferred honorary LL.D (Doctor of Laws) degrees for their contributions to promote formal legal education and scholarship in India. She was the recipient of the R.K. Narayana's Award for Literature and the Padma Shri in 2006.
WRITINGS
Murthy is a prolific fiction author in Kannada and English. She has published several books, mainly through Penguin, that espouse her philosophical views on charity, hospitality and self-realization through fictional narratives. Some of her notable books in Kannada are Dollar Sose, Runa, Kaveri inda Mekaangige, Hakkiya Teradalli, Athirikthe, Guttondu Heluve. The book ‘How I Taught My Grandmother to Read & Other Stories’ has been translated into 15 languages including Hindi, Marathi and Assamese. Her latest book is ‘The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk’. Other notable books by her are Wise and Otherwise, Old Man and his God and Gently Falls the Bakula.
