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The Old Man And His God
by Sudha Murty
Description:
People often ask me how it is that so many interesting things happen only to me. To them I reply that in life’s journey we all meet strange people and undergo many experiences that touch us and sometimes even change us. If you have a sensitive mind and record your observations regularly, you will see your life too is a vast storehouse of stories.’As she goes about her work with the villagers, slumdwellers and the common men and women of India Sudha Murty, writer, social worker and teacher, listens to them and records what they have to say. Their accounts of the struggles and hardships which they have at times overcome, and at other times been overwhelmed by, are put together in this book.
A blind old man in a little Shiva temple offers the author shelter and peace in the midst of a storm and emerges as the most generous, unselfish soul she has ever met. A little stone bench under a banyan tree in a village in Karnataka is the perfect place for travellers to rest and forget their burdens for a while as they chat with the man sitting there patiently listening to them, a better counsellor than one can find anywhere in the city.
There are stories about people’s generosity-and selfishness-in times of natural disasters like the tsunami; women struggling to speak out in a world that refuses to listen to them and tales of young professionals trying to find their feet as they climb up the corporate ladder.Told simply and directly from the heart, The Old Man and His God is a collection of snapshots of the varied facets of human nature and a mirror to the souls of the people of India.
About The Author
Sudha Murthy (also spelled Murty; née Kulkarni on 19 August 1950) is an Indian social worker and writer in Kannada and English.
Murthy began her professional career as a computer scientist and engineer. She is the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation and a member of public health care initiatives of the Gates Foundation. She has founded several orphanages, participated in rural development efforts, supported the movement to provide all Karnataka government schools with computer and library facilities, and established the ‘The Murty Classical Library of India’ at Harvard University.
Murthy initiated a bold move to introduce computer and library facilities in all schools in Karnataka & taught computer science. She got best teacher award in 1995 from Rotary Club at Banglore. Murthy is best known for her social work and her plethora of stories. Dollar Sose (English: Dollar Daughter-in-Law), a novel originally authored by her in Kannada and later translated into English as Dollar Bahu, was adapted as a televised dramatic series by Zee TV in 2001. Murthy has also acted in Marathi film Pitruroon and Kannada film Prarthana.
Murthy is a prolific fiction author in Kannada and English. She has published several books, mainly through Penguin, that espouse her philosophical views on charity, hospitality and self-realization through fictional narratives. Some of her notable books in Kannada are Dollar Sose, Runa, Kaveri inda Mekaangige, Hakkiya Teradalli, Athirikthe, Guttondu Heluve.
he book How I Taught My Grandmother to Read & Other Stories has been translated into 15 languages including Hindi, Marathi and Assamese. Her latest book is The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk. Other notable books by her are Wise and Otherwise, Old Man and his God,The Magic Drum And Other Favourite Stories and Gently Falls the Bakula. Marathi movie ‘Pitruroon’ is based on a story by Sudha Murthy.
Skryf Review
From love to hatred and business to philanthropy, from freedom to injustice and selflessness to jealousy, from friendship to tragedy and spirituality to poverty ; every story of this book manifests a facet of human-life.
The Old Man And His God is a collection of short 25 real-life stories. During her career life and as a social worker, Sudha Murthy, meets several people with different backgrounds. Several small incidents of day-to-day life teach Sudha Murthy lots of subtle things which she has whole-heartedly shared with her readers.The language of the book is extremely simple & free-flowing, yet fascinating. Kudos to Sudha Murthy for striking such a wonderful balance, which makes this book a readable one for anyone between the age 8-80.