Sudha Murty (' Kulkarni; born 19 August 1951) is an Indian educator, author and philanthropist who is chairperson of the

Infosys Foundation Infosys Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Karnataka, India, established in 1996 by Infosys to support the underprivileged sections of society. It supports programs in the areas of education, rural development, healthcare, art ...

. She is married to the co-founder of

Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Bangalore. Infosys is the ...

N. R. Narayana Murthy Nāgavārā Rāmarāo Nārāyana Mūrthy (born 21 August 1946) is an Indian billionaire businessman. He is the founder of Infosys, and has been the chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief mentor of the company before ret ...

. Murty was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for social work by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in 2006. Sudha Murty began her professional career in computer science and engineering. She is the chairperson of the

and a member of the public health care initiatives of the

Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

. She has founded several orphanages, participated in

rural development Rural development is the process of improving the quality life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of ...

efforts, supported the movement to provide all

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

government schools with computer and library facilities, and established

Murty Classical Library of India The Murty Classical Library of India began publishing classics of Indian literature in January 2015. The books, which are in dual-language format with the original language and English facing, are published by Harvard University Press. The Columbia ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. Murty is best known for her philanthropy and her contribution to literature in Kannada and English. ''Dollar Bahu'' (), a novel originally authored by her in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and later translated into English as ''Dollar Bahu,'' was adapted as a televised dramatic series by

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription bus ...

in 2001. ''Runa'' (), a story by Sudha Murthy was adapted as a Marathi film, '' Pitruroon'' by director Nitish Bhardwaj. Sudha Murthy has also acted in the film as well as a Kannada film ''Prarthana''.

Early life and education

Sudha Murty was born into a Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family on 19 August 1951 in Shiggaon,

Haveri Haveri is a city in Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Haveri district. Haveri is famous for its cardamom garlands and Byadagi red chillies. Around 25 km away, there is a place called Bada, which is the birthplace ...

, India, the daughter of R. H. Kulkarni, a surgeon, and his wife Vimala Kulkarni, a school teacher. She was 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, Wise and Otherwise and Other Stories''. Murty completed a

B.Eng. A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...

in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology (now known as KLE Technological University),and then a

M.Eng. A Master of Engineering (abbreviated MEng, M.E. or M.Eng.) is either an academic or professional master's degree in the field of engineering. International variations Australia In Australia, the Master of Engineering degree is a research de ...

in Computer Science from the

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...

Career

Sudha Murty became the first female engineer hired at India's largest auto manufacturer TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO). She joined the company as a Development Engineer in Pune and then worked in Mumbai & Jamshedpur as well. She 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 later joined Walchand Group of Industries at Pune as Senior Systems Analyst. In 1996, she started

and to date has been the Trustee of Infosys Foundation and a Visiting Professor at the PG Center of Bangalore University. She also taught at Christ University. Sudha Murty has written and published many books which include novels, non-fiction, travelogues, technical books, and memoirs. Her books have been translated into all major Indian languages. She is also a columnist for English and Kannada newspapers.

Philanthropy

Murty's

is a public charitable trust founded in 1996

Personal life

Sudha Murty married

while employed as an engineer at TELCO in Pune. The couple have two children, including fashion designer Akshata Murty, who is married to the current British Prime Minister,

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as ...

. Her siblings include

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

astrophysicist Shrinivas Kulkarni and Jaishree Deshpande (wife of Gururaj Deshpande) who co-founded the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT.

Awards

*2004:

Raja-Lakshmi Award The Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation is an Indian charitable trust that promotes arts, sciences, literature, medicine, journalism, humanities and other intellectual pursuits and to honour distinguished persons in these fields. Established in 1979 in C ...

Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation The Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation is an Indian charitable trust that promotes arts, sciences, literature, medicine, journalism, humanities and other intellectual pursuits and to honour distinguished persons in these fields. Established in 1979 in C ...

in Chennai *2006: India's fourth highest civilian award

*2006: She also received the R.K. Narayana's Award for Literature. *2010:

Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award The Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award (or Attimabbe Prashasti) is a literary award dedicated for woman writers in the Indian state of Karnataka. The award was established in 1995 by the government of Karnataka. It is the highest literary honour fo ...

by Karnataka Government. *2011: Murthy was conferred honorary LL.D (Doctor of Laws) degrees for contributions to promote formal legal education and scholarship in India. *2013: Basava Shree-2013 Award was presented to Narayan Murthy & Sudha Murthy for their contributions to society. *2018: Murthy received the Crossword Book award in popular (Non-Fiction) category. *2019:

IIT Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It wa ...

awarded her Honorary Degree ( ''Honoris Causa'') of Doctor of Science. *National Award from Public Relation Society of India for outstanding Social Service to the Society *Award for Excellent Social Service by Rotary South – Hubli *"Millenium Mahila Shiromani" award

Bibliography

Books

;Kannada *''Dollar Sose *''Runa'' *''Kaveri inda Mekaangige'' *''Hakkiya Teradalli'' *''Athirikthe'' *''Guttondu Heluve'' *''Mahashweta'' *''Tumla'' *''Nooniya Sahasagalu'' *''Samanyralli Asamanyaru'' *''Computer lokadalli'' *''Paridhi'' *''Yashasvi'' *''Guttondu Heluve'' *''Astitva'' *''Yerilitada Daariyalli'' *''Sukhesini Mattu Itara Makkala Kathegalu'' ;English *''The Mother I Never Knew'' *''

Three Thousand Stitches ''Three Thousand Stitches'' is a book written by Sudha Murthy and published in 2017. The book is a collection of 11 different stories, which she draws from her personal life, with a message engraved in every story. The main story revolves around t ...

'' *''The Man from the Egg'' *''Here, There, Everywhere'' *''The Magic of the Lost Temple'' *''The Bird with Golden Wings'' *'' How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and Other Stories'' *''The Old Man And His God'' * ''Wise and Otherwise'' *'' Mahashweta'' *''The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk'' *''The Serpent's Revenge'' *''Gently Falls The Bakula'' *''House of Cards'' *''Something Happened on the Way To Heavens'' *''The Magic Drum and Other Favorite Stories'' *''The Bird with the Golden Wings'' *''How The Sea Became Salty'' *''How The Onion got its layers'' *''The Upside Down King'' *'' The Daughter From A Wishing Tree'' *''Grandma's Bag of Stories'' *''Grandparents Bag of Stories'' *''The Sage With Two Horns'' *''Dollar Bahu'' *'' The Gopi Diaries ''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murty, Sudha 1951 births Living people Writers from Bangalore Indian women children's writers Indian children's writers Kannada people Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work English-language writers from India People from Haveri district Social workers Kannada-language writers Scientists from Bangalore Indian computer scientists Indian women computer scientists Indian women novelists Indian Institute of Science alumni Indian women engineers 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian engineers Engineers from Karnataka 21st-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian engineers 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian women scientists Women writers from Karnataka Women scientists from Karnataka Novelists from Karnataka Social workers from Karnataka Women educators from Karnataka Educators from Karnataka 20th-century women engineers 21st-century women engineers Murthy family Madhva Brahmins Karnatak University alumni Sunak family