PPT

1. Wise and Otherwise : Story 1:
Honesty Comes from the Heart
Gokhale Education Society’s
S.M.R.K. B.K. A.K. Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Nasik-5.
Ms. Geetanjali Gitay
Assistant Professor
Dept. of English
CC English (LL)
S.Y.B.Com. Sem III
Unit 4

2. About the Writer : Sudha Murthy
• Sudha Murthy completed a B.E. in Electrical and Electronics
Engineering from the B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology,
standing first in her class and receiving a gold medal.
• Murthy completed M.Eng. in Computer Science from the Indian
Institute of Science, standing first in her class and receiving a gold
medal from the Indian Institute of Engineers.
• She became the first female engineer hired at India's largest auto manufacturer TATA
Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO) in Pune.
• She is the wife of Infosys founder and ex-chairperson Narayana Murthy.
• She is the founder chairperson of Infosys Foundation, which is involved in philanthropic work.
• She has won many awards for her work.
•She is also a writer. The novel ‘Mahashweta’ is her most popular work. She has written more
than 40 books.
• “ Wise and Otherwise” is a collection of vignettes that record multiple shades of human nature.
These are experiences from her life where she met some people who were wise and otherwise.

3. Story 1 : Honesty Comes from the Heart

4. • Sudha Murthy : the Writer
• Hanumanthappa
Summary
• Sudha Murthy mentions here an experience where in the month of June she is
reading a Kannada newspaper.
• It was the day of Secondary School Leaving Certificate results declaration. In those
days the results used to be declared in the news papers.
• The pages of the newspaper were filled with the columns of role numbers and the
first page was filled with the photographs of the rank holders.
• Sudha Murthy mentions her fascination for rank holders, because, rank is not
merely an index of one’s intelligence, it also indicates the hard work and
perseverance that students have put up to reach their goal.
• She mentions that her father was a doctor and a professor and she herself was once
a teacher has made her believe so.
Characters

5. • Out of all the photographs in the newspaper, one boy’s photograph captures her attention.
• He was frail and pale but had an endearing sparkle in his eyes. His name was Hanumanthappa
and he had secured the eighth rank.
• The next day , his photograph is published again with an interview.
• From the interview she comes to know that Hanumanthappa was a coolie’s son and the oldest
of five children. They belonged to a tribal group and he was unable to study further because he
lived in a village and his father, the sole breadwinner, earned only Rs. 40 a day.
• Sudha Murthy felt sorry for this bright boy. She mentions that people like her send their children
tuitions and coaching classes, can buy books and guides and provide the best possible facilities
for them without considering the cost.
• Hanumanthappa from Rampura had excelled without access to some basic necessities.
Summary (cntd)

6. • Hanumanthappa’s postal address is provided in the interview.
• Sudha Murthy writes a post card to him and tells that she is interested in meeting him and
asks whether he could come to Banglore and meet her.
• Murthy’s father asks her to send him some money for the bus fare and to buy clothes.
• Then he comes to meet her to Banglore. He is humble. He had worn clean clothes.
• Sudha Murthy tells him that as she is happy with his academic performance, she is ready to
sponsor him. He can take up any course and she will pay for his fees and other expense.
• By the end of the day, Hanumathappa tells her that he wants to pursue studies in the Teachers’
Training College in Bellary which was nearest to his village.
• Sudha Murthy was ready to pay for any course he would have taken up but Hanumathappa
seemed clear about what he wanted to do.
Summary (cntd)

7. • After collecting the necessary information, he tells her that he would require approximately
Rs. 300 (three hundred) per moth. He planned to take a room on rent and share it with his
friend. The two boys would cook themselves in order to keep the expenses down.
•Murthy sends him Rs. 1800/- to cover his expenses for six months.
•Time passes by and Mrs. Murthy remembers one day that she has to pay Rs. 1800 /- again for
the next six months.
• Hanumanthappa acknowledges the receipt of the money but Mrs. Murthy is surprised to find
some notes in the envelop and a letter.
•Hanumanthappa mentions that he was not in Bellary for two months because of holidays and
teachers’ strike. He stayed at home for those two months and thus he was sending Rs. 300 back
which he hadn’t used in those times.
•This teaches Sudha Murthy about honesty. Hanumanthappa belongs to a poor family and yert
he was honest. Honesty is not the mark of any particular class nor it is related to education
and wealth. It springs from the heart. Sudha Murthy prays to God for Hanumanthappa’s wellness.
Summary (cntd)

8. Text Content Source :
1 .Wise and Otherwise, Murthy Sudha, Penguine India, New Delhi, Reprint(2006).