Sudha Murthy exhorts students to adopt simple living and high thinking

Sudha Murthy stresses the need for work ethics, healthy competition, and compassion; encourages students to break the glass ceiling and choose the right path.

Author and philanthropist Sudha Murthy has exhorted students to adopt ‘simple living and high thinking’ while adhering to a minimalistic way of life.

Speaking at a ‘Meet the Author’ programme hosted by TocH Public School here and DC Books, she credited her mother with encouraging her to read and write. Parents must take to reading, and children will follow suit, she said.

She advised parents not to think of their children as an extension of their dreams. “Children have their own dreams. Every person must be permitted to run his marathon,” she said at the event which saw the release of “Oru Mantrika Kudukka”, the Malayalam version of her short-story compilation Grandma’s Bag of Stories.

She stressed the need to consistently adhere to work ethics, healthy competition, love for learning, and compassion for others to lead a successful life. She encouraged students to break the glass ceiling, to be courageous, and to always chose the right path.

Ms. Murthy enlivened the one-hour-long interaction by narrating anecdotes and stories. She exhorted students to honestly and consistently yearn for a better world. Headmistress Shirley Grace John hosted the event accompanied by a pair of students of the school.

Dr. Alex Mathew, president of TocH Institutions, and Diya Sangeeth, a budding poet from the senior secondary section of the school, presented books written by them to Ms. Murthy, while Tomy Tilson of Standard VIII presented a pencil portrait to her.