An inheritance of tales

A good reader may not be a good writer but every good writer is a good reader, says Padma Shri Sudha Murthy, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation. Speaking at the recently held Mumbai LitFest, she talks about her new book, ‘Grandparents’ Bag of Stories’ set in the pandemic era. In a conversation with Naima Ramakrishnan, Sudha Murthy tells how she used to spend time with her grandparents in her childhood, her emotional connection with sharing and writing stories, what motivated her to write stories and why are they important. Corporate Citizen brings you the excerpts

Naima Ramakrishnan: In your latest book, Grandparents’ Bag of Stories-a group of children go to visit their grandparents during the lockdown and their grandparents’ stories make the dullest days super excited and great fun. I was wondering are the grandparents in the book based on your stories.

Sudha Murthy: Yes. When I was a child I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. Today, my grandchildren are not with me, they are in London. So, I assumed that if my grandchildren are with me they would have come to me during the Covid-19 pandemic and how I would have told them stories. I used to have a Zoom call with them every day and tell them one story. I transformed the situation of a grandmother telling a story in my village but my children are modern.

In your childhood days, did your grandparents also passed on stories to you and do you remember any story that has stayed with you?

When I was young, I spent all my holidays with my grandparents. Seventy years ago, the era was all different, we did not have a swimming pool or a summer school or such. When we used to have our holidays, we used to pack our things, take a bus and visit my grandparents who used to stay in a village. In the village, there was no electricity, no computer, no TV; the only way to entertain was by stories.

My grandparents told me hundreds of stories. Some of them I have heard, some of them I have taken (in my books), some of them I have created and thus I have come up with many books like ‘Magic Drum, The Bird with the Golden Wings, Magic of the Lost Temple, Grandparents’ Bag of Stories’. These are the result of the stories that I have created-eighty per cent I have created, 10-15% my grandparents have told me and 5% I must have read or heard from someone. I cannot pinpoint and say that this is the only story that I remember- I cannot do that because there are thousands of stories I have written.

I love the way that stories become a part of you. I remember that my grandmother used to tell me stories. For example, there are two girls called Maya and Neha and somehow miraculously when I lost a friend or when I had a fever, even Maya and Neha had a fever or lost a friend but the stories ended up making me feel so much better. So what do you think is the power of a story is? One can remember a story but one cannot remember some maths formula or a scientific definition. Why are stories that important?

Stories are important because stories relate to real-life incidents. For example, in one of my book I have written about Jaggu and the bean stalk. If you look at it, it is so real in the sense, there is a person who is lazy and he wants a lot of money. In life, we meet so many people like Jaggu. Jaggu’s wife works very hard and earns her money. She takes only those beans which she can reach, whereas her husband went on the bean stalk and met someone at the top.

In real-life, when you talk about the stories, tell them to be hard working and don’t be lazy, people won’t remember. If I tell you about Jaggu and the bean stalk, you will always remember the story whenever you will see a bean. When you relate something in your life you will like it.

"When we used have our holidays, we used to pack our things, take a bus and visit my grandparents who used to stay in a village. In the village, there was no electricity, no computer, no TV; the only way to entertain was by stories"

You mentioned that you were teaching computer science. Why did you decide to do it and why do you think it is important to write stories and share stories?

Teaching was my profession. I am a Computer Science graduate and post-graduate, I have been in the field for a long time. Writing is my joy. When I was about your age I used to write. When I was studying in my school I used to write essays, the teacher used to say that I used to write good essays. Whenever the teacher was on a leave, I was the class monitor. Back in the days, a class monitor used to manage the class. I used to manage the class by telling the class a story and everybody used to listen. Whenever a teacher was on a leave, other teachers used to call me because I used to tell enchanting stories. So, telling stories became my hobby and then I started writing.

Writing is my expression of my emotion and I enjoy it. My heart loves to write and read. My brain loves computer and I use it. I am a mix of two things, one is brain-related and the other is heart-related.

I think writing for you is too easy and natural. But for some people, for me, I like reading. Writing for me is difficult. But I guess, it is very easy for you to express yourself.

Initially, what I used to think and imagine, I used to write. But over a period of time, you learn to master writing. As you said that you can read a lot and cannot write-but start writing whatever you can and don’t be in a hurry to publish it. Keep on writing and over a period of time, see how you can improve. A good writer should also be a good reader. A good reader can read many types of books, due to which many ideas will come to you and you will come across different types of writing. A good reader may not be a good writer but every good writer is a good reader.

You mentioned morals and messages in your stories. In your latest book, what do you think is the most important message that you want the readers to remember?

What I wanted to tell you in the book is that today, there is a pandemic by the name of Corona, and there was a similar kind of a pandemic in 1918 by the name of the Spanish Flu. It came to India and many people lost their lives. There is no point in telling over and over again that there is a pandemic; schools and colleges are closed and there is a lockdown. How to handle this? There is one method, just go on cursing. The second method is to make use of the time. (In the book) grandchildren visit their grandparents and the grandmother says to them sharing is caring. You should help people who are less fortunate, who are travelling, people who are on daily wages and who do not have money to eat-you should give them ration, hand sanitisers, a mask, all those things. Children should share whatever they have, wealth or knowledge, particularly in the pandemic.

All of us should work together so that society should not suffer. For example, there is a story in Panchatantra, a hunter puts a net on the ground. One greedy pigeon says I want to take some corn, an old pigeon says do not do it. Corn will not be that easily available, daal main kuch kala hain. The pigeon doesn’t listen and goes for the corn and as a result, it gets stuck in the net. Many pigeons come for the corn and get stuck. Seeing this, the old pigeon tells them the only method to get out of this net is to fly together with all might. This the moral of the story: when there is pandemic all of us should work for those who are in need. That is the main reason to write the book.

"I feel that Panchatantra stories are great stories which can tell many things. Stories can change a lot in one’s life, provided, that you want to change"

Children in lockdown were free to roam in the world of imagination. So, how different do you think their lockdown would have been without stories? Because I remember calling my friends and they were sad and bored because of the lockdown and they realised that they actually had a good time with their grandparents.

In life, you come across many difficult situations of which you may not be aware of. No one thought that such a pandemic could come, but it has come up. When you face a difficult situation instead of blaming someone, you should always think about how will I try my level-best? You should convert every difficult situation into a step and use it. That’s what I wanted to tell children. Not all the time you can watch TV, play computer games, so the best friend during the lockdown is reading.

How do you think that stories can change someone’s life?

When you go near an ocean you will see that there is plenty of water in the ocean. You can collect and bring the water to whichever vessel you use. For example, if you take a glass you will bring a glass of water. If you bring a pot you will bring a pot of water. Similarly, there are a plenty of stories available but how you take it that depends on you. What kind of vessel you bring depends on you. If you bring a vessel of learning you will learn a lot.

People who are open-minded, who want to learn, for them stories can help to change themselves. I feel that Panchatantra stories are great stories that can tell many things. Stories can change a lot in one’s life, provided, that you want to change.