A lesson in Life from a beggar
Meena was a good friend of Sudha Murty and despite having all the luxuries in her life she would always be sad and cynical. The author felt depressed in her company, so she would always avoid her presence. Meena was working in Bangalore in LIC and one day she got transferred to Mumbai and the author eventually forgot about her. Once when the author visited Mumbai she met Meena coincidentally amidst heavy rains. As usual, the author wanted to avoid Meena but this time, she noticed something different in her attitude. She was sounding so positive. They went to have tea and the author asked Meena about the reason behind her cheerfulness. The author was amazed to know that Meena learned a life lesson from a beggar. Meena told her once when she saw a beggar playing, laughing, and enjoying with his granddaughter she realized what she was missing all these years. The beggar was completely drenched in rain but was so happy as if he was in paradise. She realized the importance of gratitude in one’s life. She changed herself in the next 2 years and wanted to thank her guru (beggar) but sadly the beggar was no more. Meena sponsored his granddaughter’s education as a mark of respect to her teacher.
Death without grief
Death without grief is a story that showcases the rising apathy amongst so-called modern families. The story throws light on the absence of love and values in the up-to-date society. The author had visited to pay her condolence to a family in her neighborhood. When she went to her neighbor’s house she could not believe that someone had died in their house because there was no sign of sorrow in their house. They were playing Kannada film songs, chatting in a carefree way, children were playing, they were watching a movie on the TV and the whole atmosphere gave the impression that there was some happy occasion in their house. The author was perplexed to see such a cheerful atmosphere in their house. She could not even speak about the lady who died as the members started asking her about her work, company, social work, and about her sari too. When somehow she managed to ask about their mother’s death the lady cribbed about her mother-in-law. The man though felt bad about his mother’s loss but he was helpless. The author felt very sad knowing that there was no grief expressed for the death of their beloved family member. It is very sad to know that in big cities with the increasing standard of living, people have forgotten true emotions and family values. We can say Death without grief is a satire on the modern-day lifestyle.
Idealists at twenty Realists at Forty
In the story “Idealists at Twenty, Realists at Forty” there are three different stories that tell us that nothing remains permanent. You cannot tell what is going to happen after 20 years. The story is about around 3 friends Sudha Murty, Vimla, Vinutha, and Ratna. The author starts the story, narrating about regularly meeting her three childhood friends before their marriage and even after they grew old. What all occurred in their lives has been beautifully presented by the author. In their college author’s friend, Vimla was famous for her beauty but when the author met her after 25 years she found her dull with no interest in things. Her friend, Vinutha who was a bright student could not stay happy after marriage because her husband was very competitive and would dominate her. On the other hand, her friend Ratna who was very ordinary became a successful entrepreneur after so many years. Ratna believed in herself, stood for herself, and took charge of her destiny. She accepted the fact that she cannot blame fate for her misery. She worked hard and consistently tried different types of jobs and eventually became a successful businesswoman. They all thought that Vinutha would be successful amongst them but years later they found that Ratna became successful. When they were young they were idealists and when they reached forty they became realists. The author wants to give us a message that we should always take charge of our life and work sincerely towards making it better.
Think Positive, Be happy
This story focuses on the opposite attitudes of two personalities, Girija and Vasant. Vasant is a family friend of Sudha Murty’s parents and often visits them. He has many complaints about his life and he is never happy with what he has. He has a good respectable job and an obedient son yet he complains that his son is not taking his 12th seriously. Sometimes he complains about the recession, sometimes about the summer in Bangalore. Girija on the other hand is not very educated. She stays in a quarter given by Sudha Murty’s mother and she works for them as a cook. Her life is full of struggles and yet she has a positive attitude towards her life. She never grumbles about her poor condition. She is contented and happy most of the time. Her husband abandoned her and he is living with another woman nearby. Girija comes across him daily but she doesn’t feel bad about her fate. Instead, she feels blessed that she has only one son to look after. Had she been a mother of many children her responsibilities had been more. She is happy with her job. She feels that her son is more concerned about her and will be a good man when he grows up because he has seen his mother’s sufferings. Girija, despite being uneducated is optimistic whereas Vasant whose life is full of comforts is highly pessimistic.
Crises of confidence
Through this story, the author wants to give a strong message to the girls of our country. She says that self-reliance is of utmost importance in every girl’s life. Their life’s goal should not be restricted to getting married and having children only. The purpose of education should be to make girls financially independent and at the same time gather the courage to face the odd realities of society fiercely. They should not surrender to the dominance of other people. They should be assertive. The author gives the best advice to all the girls. She says do not try to please everyone in your life. Making everyone happy is an impossible thing to do. You will end up pleasing no one. In any permanent relationship, both parties should change a bit rather than just one. The author has given two examples in this story. The first example is of Charu who happened to be her student. Charu was working in a bank and was married to an engineer. Initially, she lead a happy life but eventually, her mother-in-law and husband started dominating her. She tried to please them in every possible way but her efforts were futile. They started expecting more work from her. Instead of being assertive about her rights, Charu got succumbed to their high expectations which were wrong. The second example is about a girl who held a master’s degree in business administration. She ran away with her boyfriend and they got married in a temple without any proof. After a few days, the boy abandoned her and the girl was helpless. The girl who is so educated should have had at least some document of their marriage. The author says that in life you will come across several exams with an unknown syllabus. But you should face them with confidence. Education and financial dependence are the best tools that every girl should make use of in facing such exams.
1. Sorry, the line is busy
This story is about how sometimes the younger generation cannot understand the advice given to them by their elders. The story also teaches us about using our resources valuably. At times we should control our unwanted desires and use the available resources carefully. Rakesh is Sudha Murty’s classmate from school to college. Once on his birthday, the author wanted to greet him and was trying his telephone many times but she was getting the lines busy. Later on, she came to know from his wife that the phone was occupied by the daughters. They were constantly busy chatting with their friends over the phone. They didn’t care about the money spent by the office on the telephone bill. They would share jokes, solve Math problems and read books on the telephone. At the night they would use the telephone for connecting with the computer to chat with their friends on the internet. The wife was disturbed by the overuse of the telephone by her children. She said too much is too bad which was very correct. The author feels that the younger generation will only realize the importance and value of their parents’ advice when they will become parents and their children will not listen to their advice.
1. Oh, teacher, I salute thee
In this story, Sudha Murty emphasizes the importance of a teacher in our life. How in old days teachers were respected like parents. They deserved this respect because they treated their students as their children. They were happy to impart their knowledge selflessly. In those days children stayed with the teachers and the teacher and his wife fed them like their own children. Great rulers also owe everything to their teachers. The author reminisces how they used to travel with their teacher during the district-level and state-level competitions in school. They never stayed outside. The teacher used to take them to his sister’s house. His sister would show her hospitality and take care of the students without expecting any returns. The author tells a very nice story. Once an emperor was asked that you are so powerful and your teacher is very poor then why do you show so much respect to him instead of ordering him. The emperor replied that all the things like wealth and property can go away but what remains is the knowledge that the teacher has. The teacher gives knowledge to his students and in return he gains more knowledge. The author also narrates one incidence when she went for inaugurating their foundation’s shelter cum school in Orissa. She saw that there were not enough benches available for students, students were sitting on the floor, classrooms were crowded, some of the children were attending classes under a tree. She was shocked to know that the headmistress was using these classrooms for her stay instead of teaching purposes just to save the house rent. She rebuked the teacher and reminded her of her duties as a teacher. The teacher was ashamed of herself and could not speak anything.
1. Life is an examination
This story is about two individuals Sumitra and Suresh. Sumitra and Suresh were Sudha Murty’s classmates. Sumitra was better than Suresh in studies. They got married and Suresh excelled in his business with Sumitra’s support. Sumitra didn’t spend unnecessarily on herself as she valued money. Later, when they came to know that they were suffering from critical illness they shared their worries with the author They were childless. They were discussing how would they spend their money now that they have very little time with them. Both of them differed in their thoughts. Suresh felt that it would be not a good idea to donate their hard-earned money to the relatives because anything free is of no value. Sumitra wanted to spend the money on herself. She felt all these years she could not spend money lavishly. Once when the author met Sumitra at Mumbai airport, she could not recognize her. She had completely changed herself look wise. From her conversations, the author could guess that she was living an extravagant lifestyle. On the other hand, she came to know from her office that Suresh was eager to donate his money to various educational institutions, libraries, and computer centers. He was doing all the donations in his wife’s name as he believed it was, she who supported him to build his business. Both of them died but Sumitra opted to live life enjoying as per her wish and Suresh opted to be a philanthropist.