Book Review

Title Of Book: How I Taught My Grandmother To Read and other stories

Author: Sudha Murty

Publisher: Puffin Books (2004)

Cost: Rs 150/-

Pages: 133

ISBN: 0-44-333598-7

Format: Paperback

About the book

I am an ardent fan of Sudha Murthy’s books. I have read many of them. In “How I Taught My Grandmother To Read,” Sudha Murthy has shared her real life experiences as a teacher, a social worker, a mother and a wife. The small but real, touching , enjoyable and inspirational 25 stories in this masterpiece teach us so much about life. They also tell you so much about qualities we seem to have forgotten - like honesty - and also people that were great, not for the money they had, but their strength of character - like JRD Tata.

Most of the stories personally involve her or her work with Infosys Foundation, but there is also one inspiring one of Narayan Murthy, a touching tale of how his father didn’t have money to fund his engineering from an IIT, because of which he had to join some nearby college. The title story of how she taught her grandmother to read, and how her grandmother touched her feet saying she was actually touching her teacher’s feet – is very moving and emotional.  There is one on APJ Abdul Kalam and his humility, and there is one where Sudha Murthy’s daughter teaches her a lesson. One of the gems in the book is a story titled ‘Appro JRD’. As the name suggests, the story details the author’s interaction with JRD Tata, when she was an employee at TELCO. Her unique style is moving and very expressive, touching the reader’s heart. Her simple language and style leaves the reader salute this lady and her simplicity.

After reading this book I realized that it pays to be firm in my beliefs.

Many a time I recall her stories when faced with similar situations in life.  This is perhaps a greatest a tribute a writer can get. Also, her stories give a hope for a better tomorrow for our country. I highly recommend this book to all, especially children, students and youth.