KOCHI: Sudha Murthy is a name that needs no introduction. She is an educator, writer, philanthropist, and the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. On September 16, the 73-yr-old Padma Shri awardee released her latest book, Manthrika Kudukkayude Katha, in Kochi.
Edited excerpts:
What inspires you churn out so many stories?
Responses from people fuels my writing. Readers are very important to me. Also, children are precious. If you give instructions and lessons directly to children, they may not understand or listen. However, when you convey it through a story, they will embrace the message.
If you could go back to any phase of your life, which one would you choose?
I would love to go back to my childhood. I always enjoyed my childhood days. Just eat, play and read, with no responsibilities. I have 77 first-cousins. Everybody has a family tree, but I have a family forest! So just going around playing with them was really fun.
But one thing that I regret not doing in my childhood was learning to swim. I am afraid of water even now. There was a time when my children used to threaten me, “Amma, if you don’t bring me this thing, I will put you in the swimming pool.” Similarly, yoga was not very popular those days. These are two things I regret not doing in my childhood.
In this era of generative AI, what do you think is the future of storytelling?
Simply writing lines will not make a good story. Writing with emotions does. AI can, perhaps, write 300 pages quickly and efficiently, but there will be no emotion. To evoke tears, whether from pain or joy, there should be the human touch — in the most natural way. AI will not be able to replace that.
What’s your take on Kerala and its people?
I am always connected to Kerala through my daughter-in-law. She is from Kochi. I am always amazed by the energy of women in Kerala. I have travelled all over the world, and I find the women of Kerala to be extremely smart. Whenever I have a session, they come up with good questions. Even the children here ask interesting questions. The people of Kerala are the most literate. They don’t attend the session only to see me. They see me through my books. Without the readers, I am not an author.
How do you feel about your books being translated into languages around the world?
It’s heart-warming to see my books reaching people across the world. Once I was at Karachi airport and I saw my book in a shop. When I was checking it out, the shopkeeper said, "Buy this book, ma’am. Sudha Murthy writes well."