My Meeting With Smt. Sudha Murty Ma'am
AN UNFORGETTABLE MORNING…MY MEETING WITH SMT. SUDHA MURTY MA’AM
Namya Kapoor
Grade 7 Vindhyas
New Delhi, 31st July, 2026, 8 am. As I, with my parents, neared the residence of Smt. Sudha Murty, there was sense of excitement in the air and butterflies in my stomach. We rang the bell and were taken inside.
There she was, sitting on the sofa. She received us with a warm smile, "Namaste". We greeted her with a bouquet of flowers and an awestruck excitement. She was indeed a gracious host. Our appointment time was 8:30 A.M. but she was graceful enough to let us meet her before the scheduled time. She offered tea to my parents and juice to me.
Soon, we were all talking and discussing like we already knew each other. She inquired me about the different books she had written, my opinion on them, my most treasured book in that series, why I have a soft spot for that particular book and I answered with great enthusiasm and she was all ears.
Sudha Murty Ma'am is a humble, down to earth, sharp and an understanding person, qualities essential for writing and philanthropy. She is a people's person.
Ma'am stated that she has the idea of a book in her mind for two to three years, then she visits those places, talks to people, reads and researches about them, just so she could get authentic information for the book. She then finally writes the book in 10 to 15 days.
She questioned me that, did I think that the characters of her books were imaginary people or real-life persons? I answered that yes, I thought that the characters of her books were actual people not just fictional characters. She explained that all the characters of the books are real. Gopi, her dog, is real, Ajji is Sudha Murty Ma'am herself, Nooni is her granddaughter, but the stories are a figment of her imagination. She also showed me a picture of Gopi in her phone.
She was elated to know that I had read almost 29 of her books. She also revealed her future books: The Magic of the Lost Path and Detective Gopi.
When she came to know that, we spoke Sindhi at home, she told us that she had also researched on the largest migration in human history - The Partition of India in 1947 and Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904, for her book "The Magic of the Lost Earrings". She knew more about the Sindhi culture than the Sindhis themselves. She proclaimed that the Sindhis are direct descendants of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Her advice to young aspiring writers is, "Write whatever your heart really feels, and not under pressure, but by enjoying the process. Don't be in a hurry to publish. Keep writing and get to know your strengths and limitations in writing"
She also gave me the limited-edition book, which is not available in book stores: "Tides of Time - Bharat's History through Murals in Parliament" published by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. She explained a few Murals herself, and stated that she had travelled to all the places associated with the murals to get accurate information, and the book was the result of notes made through years.
She suggested that as I stay in Gujarat, I should definitely visit Lothal, Rani ni Vav and Dholavira. Such places capture the true essence of what India and life at large is.
We also had the privilege of gifting the sacred "The Bhagavad Gita" to Smt. Sudha Murty. I also presented her with a hand written letter as a token of my admiration and respect.
This experience taught me to never give up on my dreams and achieve them, nevertheless. We left at 9:00 A.M. with signed books, photographs and memories which will last a lifetime.