Sudha Murty

Sudha Murty was born to a Kannada-speaking family on 19 August 1950 in Shiggaon, Haveri district in Mysore State (present-day Karnataka), India, the daughter of R. H. Kulkarni, a surgeon, and his wife Vimala Kulkarni, a schoolteacher. She was raised by her parents and maternal grandparents. These childhood experiences form the historical basis for her first notable work entitled How I Taught My Grandmother to Read, Wise and Otherwise and Other Stories. Murty completed a BEng in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology (now known as KLE Technological University), and then a MEng in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science. == Career ==

Sudha Murty became the first female engineer hired at India's largest auto manufacturer TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO). She joined the company as a Development Engineer in Pune and then worked in Mumbai and Jamshedpur as well. She had written a postcard to the company's Chairman complaining of the "men only" gender bias at TELCO. As a result, she was granted a special interview and hired immediately. Sudha Murty has written and published many books which include novels, non-fiction, travelogues, technical books, and memoirs. Her books have been translated into all major Indian languages. She was a columnist for English and Kannada newspapers. == Philanthropy ==

Murty's Infosys Foundation is a public charitable trust founded in 1996. == Personal life ==

Sudha Murty is married to Infosys co-founder N. R. Narayana Murthy. They married when she was employed as an engineer at TELCO in Pune. The couple have two children, including fashion designer Akshata Murty, who is married to former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak, and Rohan Murty, a computer scientist and founder of enterprise software company Soroco. Her siblings include Dr. Sunanda Kulkarni, Caltech astrophysicist Shrinivas Kulkarni and Jaishree Deshpande (wife of Gururaj Deshpande) who co-founded the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT. == Awards ==

presenting the Padma Bhushan Award to Dr. (Smt.) Sudha Murthy|thumb|250px presenting the Padma Shri Award to Dr. (Smt.) Sudha Murthy|thumb|250px • 2004: Raja-Lakshmi Award by Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation in Chennai • 2006: India's fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri • 2006: She also received the R.K. Narayana's Award for Literature. • 2010: Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award by Karnataka Government. • 2011: Murty was conferred honorary LL.D (Doctor of Laws) degrees for contributions to promote formal legal education and scholarship in India. • 2013: Basava Shree-2013 Award was presented to Narayan Murty & Sudha Murty for their contributions to society. • 2018: Murty received the Crossword Book award in popular (Non-Fiction) category. • 2019: IIT Kanpur awarded her Honorary Degree (Honoris Causa) of Doctor of Science. • 2023: Padma Bhushan by the Government of India • 2023: Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar. • 2023: The Global Indian Award, which is worth $50, 000, is given each year to a prominent Indian who has made a major mark in his or her chosen field. Her husband Narayana Murthy too got the same award in 2014, so they became first couple conferred with this award. She donated the sum to the Field Institute (University of Toronto). == Bibliography ==