Sudha Murty On ‘Story Time With Sudha Amma’: The Purpose Of Each Is To Give A Value-Based Story

For the unversed, the show features 52 of the most popular stories from Sudha Murty’s titles, ‘Grandma’s Bag Of Stories’, ‘Grandparents’ Bag Of Stories’, and ‘The Magic Drum And Other Favourite Stories.’ The show is streaming on Murty Media’s YouTube channel – ‘Where Stories Come To Life’, a dedicated platform to showcase stories by the beloved author. The animated series ‘Story Time With Sudha Amma’ was launched in 6 languages – Hindi, English, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu.

Talking to Prateek Sur, Sudha Murty opened up about the series, what pushed her from books to turn to a show, how she keeps her stories so relatable, how she keeps herself grounded, the reason for her happiness, and the upcoming film on her and her husband Narayana Murthy’s life.

Excerpts from the candid chat:

What made you come up with this YouTube series titled ‘Storytime With Sudha Amma’? And what is the idea behind this whole show?

I always wrote books. I was never into digital. So, my daughter-in-law Aparna Krishnan and my son Rohan Murthy did some research and they found out that today’s generation, if it is the digital media, right after they see the stories it will be etched in their mind. So, they came up with the idea of converting some of the stories into a digital form and it is the work of my daughter-in-law.

You’ve written several books and they really sell like hotcakes and they’re always filled with stories which are so very relatable. Are all the stories you write from personal experience or are any of them based on fiction?

No. It depends. For example, my foundation experiences are my own personal expenses. They are my own personal experiences and they are my foundation stories. Like 3000 speeches here, there, everywhere. The day I stopped drinking milk, the old man was God-wise and otherwise. These are all my personal true experiences. Whereas when I write for children, they are fictional.

So, in today’s times, kids aren’t getting much time to spend with their grandparents listening to their life stories. With this, are you trying to bring back the whole culture of grandparents telling stories with the show of yours?

Actually, today it’s in reality, grandparents stay somewhere else. Houses have become small. It is difficult to live in a joint family. Both husband and wife are working. Everyone likes to have their own small family. So, the kind of interaction between grandparents and grandchildren has reduced due to so many reasons. Right now, every purpose of a story is to give a value-based story. Without telling you, you should do these things. You tell a story and if you are good, what happens? If you are bad, what happens? So, these stories are meant to teach you a good value system.

You’ve been to so many places and you’ve achieved so much in life. So, what is the one thing that keeps you so grounded?

It is love for learning I suppose. I love to learn every day, new things.

What’s the secret behind your happiness? Any tips which you can give your readers or the people who are going to watch the show?

I’m not greedy. That’s the reason (laughs).

A film is being made about you and your husband. How do you feel about it? And have you by any chance met any directors per se?

I’m not into that at all. I’m happy with my books and my stories. I really do not know anything much about it.

What is your message to the kids when they watch this show? What should they look forward to?

Please enjoy the show. There are simple shows, there are simple stories. But each story has certain values.