Sudha Murthy is an Indian engineering teacher, author of Kannada and English books, and a philanthropist who works with many organisations for the welfare of the common man. She is the chairperson of Infosys Foundation and a member of the public healthcare initiatives of the Gates Foundation. She began her professional career as a computer scientist and engineer.
Among Sudha's notable works, is her support to the movement to provide all Karnataka government schools with computer and library facilities. She initiated a bold move to introduce computer and library facilities in all schools in Karnataka and also taught Computer Science. She got the Best Teacher Award in 1995 from the Rotary Club at Bangalore.
CAREER:
Sudha was the first female engineer to be hired by India's largest auto manufacturer TELCO (Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company) now Tata motors. She had written to the company's Chairman complaining of the 'men only' gender bias at TELCO, which in turn led to her being called for a special interview and being hired immediately. She joined the company as a Development Engineer and worked in Pune, Mumbai and Jamshedpur. She later joined Walchand Group of Industries at Pune and worked as a Senior Systems Analyst.
Apart from social work, Sudha, who still loves teaching, is a Visiting Professor at the PG Center of Bangalore University and has also taught at Christ University.
SOCIAL WORK:
In 1996, Sudha started the Infosys Foundation of which she continues to be a Trustee, and through it, she has built 2,300 houses in flood-affected areas. Her social work covers the healthcare, education, empowerment of women, public hygiene, art and culture, and poverty alleviation at the grassroots level. Her vision of a library for each school has resulted in the setting up of 70,000 libraries so far.
MOVIES & TELEVISION:
Sudha had made a cameo appearance in 2017 in the Kannada movie Uppu Huli Khara, in which she played a judge. Before that, she had played a judge in the Kannada film Prarthana, and also made a special appearance in Marathi movie Pitruroon, which was based on her Kannada novel Rhun. She also appeared in season 11 of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) during its Karamveer episode in the finale week.
BOOKS:
As an author, Sudha has written over 60 Kannada and English books, and they include Dollar Bahu, which was adapted as a televised dramatic series by Zee TV in 2001. Some of the other books are The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk, The Mother I Never Knew, Gently Falls The Bakula, How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and Other Stories, The Sudha Murty Children’s Treasury, Two Unforgettable Lessons!, Hindu Mother, Muslim Son, etc.
AWARDS:
Sudha is also a recipient of numerous awards, among them the Padma Shri Award, the National Award from Public Relations Society of India for outstanding Social Service to the Society, the Attimabbe award for her technical book in Kannada, the R.K. Narayana's Award for Literature, and many others.
PERSONAL LIFE:
Sudha Murthy was born on August 19, 1950 in Shiggaon in Karnataka to Dr. R.H. Kulkarni and Vimala Kulkarni. She completed her B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from B.V.B. College of Engineering and Technology, and her M.E. in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science. She is married to N.R. Narayana Murthy and has two children with him.