Wise and Otherwise by Sudha Murty

Blurb of the book : In Sudha Murty's most celebrated work of non-fiction, fifty vignettes showcase the myriad shades of human nature. A man dumps his aged father in an old-age home after declaring him to be a homeless stranger: a tribal chief in the Sahyadri hills teaches the author that there is humility in recieving too; and a sick woman remembers to thank her benfactor even from her deathbed. these are just some of the poignant and eye-opening stories about people from all over the country that Sudha Murty recounts. From incredible examples of generosity to the meanest acts one can expect from men and women, she records everything with wry humour and a directness that touches the heart.
Book Name : Wise and Otherwise   Author Name : Sudha Murty   Genre : Non Fiction  Number of pages - 220  My Rating : 4.3 stars

Sudha Murty :- She is the chairperson of Infosys Foundation and a member of public health care initiatives of the Gates Foundation. Mrs. Murthy became the first female engineer hired India’s largest auto manufacturer TELCO (Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company) now Tata motors. She had raised the issue of ‘men-only” gender bias problems in the company. She got "Best Teacher Award" in 1995 from Rotary Club at Bangalore. Sudha Murthy is famous for many of philanthropist works.  She aims to empower women. She spreads the awareness of rural education, public hygiene, poverty alleviation and much more. She imbibes the need to maintain clean India, hence building up toilets for public. She has been passionate in helping people in flood affected areas too. She has also written books for children, fiction and non-fiction; all of which have been praised greatly by readers.
Source: Wikipedia

My reason to read it : In July 2017, she was called "cattle class" at Heathrow International Airport in London. I was inspired by the way she handled and directed her emotions in a positive and non-provocative manner. Rather than backlashing the people right there, she waited for the right moment to give them them her peice of mind so that they don't have the courage to pin-point any person the second time on the basis of money, status and clothes. So, I bought one of her non-fiction books and I can say, I am satisfied with my decision to read her work.

The book consists of 51 short stories which are based on the real life encounters of Sudha maam with people from different walks of life. The stories traverses through varied range of topics without negligible traces of any kind of gimmicks. Each story would teach you unique lessons of life without the feeling of being lectured. Each encounter has been written with a tinge of humour which makes it even more entertaining. The stories leave you with awe by the enormity of the world, variety in shrewdness and acts of kindness by random people.

To me, reading the book was like listening to my grandmother (may her soul rest in peace) who loved to tell me her tales of confrontation with people in her life. Hours would pass by while listening to her while resting my head onto her lap or sitting with both my hands cupping my face. This book would not make you feel bored at any point of time and you would be craving more of her work even after finishing. This book teaches the readers those very non-provocative ways which can be implemented by us in our lives to efficiently handle many situations. Qualities like patience, choosing silence at right instances, and selfless acts of tenderness inspired me to live a better happy life.

Spoiler Alert : This parah perfectly coneys my emotions behind me aspiring to be a teacher.



This is my first time writing a book review, so sorry for any shortcoming. Constructive feedback would be highly appreciative. Thank you for reading.