CHAPTER- 1

HOW I TAUGHT MY GRANDMOTHER TO READ

- Sudha Murthy

ACTIVITY:
Genuine gratitude and acts of kindness don’t need to be expensive. List your ways to show
your appreciation to your guru.
•
•
•
•
•

Additional Information:
Fiction is a genre created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a
true story or situation. Types of literature in the fiction genre include novel, short story, and
novella. The word is from the Latin fictiō, “the act of making, fashioning, or molding.”

First hand narrative: A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller

recounts events from their own point of view using the first person such as "I", "us", "our" and
"ourselves". It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person
re-teller, first-person witness, or first-person peripheral.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The eminent bilingual writer of

Kannada and English books, Sudha Murthy is famous for her
philanthropic activities and is the chairperson of Infosys
Foundation. She was a keen academician since childhood and
became the first female engineer to be hired in TELCO, India’s
largest automobile manufacturer. With an aim to empower as
many women as possible, Murthy's indefatigable efforts to
spread awareness about rural hygiene, education, cleanliness
have been recognized worldwide and appreciated. Sudha
Murty is a prolific writer of numerous books. Her books have
 been translated into all the major Indian languages and have been sold all over the country. She
was the recipient of the R.K. Narayan Award for Literature and the Padma Shri in 2006. She has
published several books that espouse her philosophical views on charity, hospitality, normal life
and self-realization through fictional and non-fictional narratives. “How I Taught My
Grandmother to Read” is one her most celebrated works, with the title story been translated to
more than 15 languages. Some other noteworthy works by Sudha Murty are "Mahashweta",
"Dollar Bahu", "The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk", "The Mother I Never Knew", "Gently Falls the
Bakula", "House of Cards", among others.

THEME: The theme of the story 'How I Taught My Grandmother to Read' by Sudha Murthy
revolves around adult education as the protagonist, the narrator's grandmother expresses her
desire to learn to read and write Kannada alphabet at the age of sixty two. She confides in her
granddaughter and she becomes her teacher when she realized how serious her grandmother was.
For Krishtakka 'learning has no age bar' and she proves it true by her hard work and
determination with which she learned her lessons from her granddaughter and completed her
target to be able to read by the day of Vijaydashmi.

IMPORTANT POINTS:
• The writer was twelve years old and she used to stay with her grandparents in north Karnataka.
Since there were very few diversions, the entire famlly would eagerly wait for a weekly magazine
called Karamveera. This magazine was publishing famous writer Triveni's novel, 'Kashi Yatre’ as a
serial.
• The novel dealt with the protagonist's struggle to visit Kashi. Since grandmother believed in
Kashi-Yatra as a pilgrimage, she could identify with the trials and tribulations of the main
characters.
• Every Wednesday, the writer would read the next episode of the story to her. The grandmother
would not only listen with great attention but also memorize it by heart. Later she would discuss
it with friends in the temple courtyard.

• One day the writer had to go to the neighbouring village for a cousin's wedding and stayed back
there for a week. When she returned, she was surprised to see her grandmother in tears. At night,
the grandmother narrated how her past life, feeding and bringing up children, kept her busy,
sparing no time for education of any kind.

• Moreover, education for girls was not considered as important in those days. Without the
granddaughter, she had a tough time trying to decipher and guess the next episode of 'Kashi
Yatre.

• She felt very desperate and helpless, mutely gazing at the pictures, unable to read a single word.
This incident fanned the grandmother's desire to learn the Kannada alphabet and she vowed to
learn it by Dussehra. The granddaughter's pleas, her mockery of the grandmother's are all fell on
deaf ears No wonder. the grandmother proved to be an ideal student.
• In no time, she could read, repeat and write Kannada. The writer presented her with a copy of the
novel 'Kashi Yatre' as a token of appreciation and grandmother’s age touched the feet of her
granddaughter, her teacher, as a befitting tribute

Suggested AV Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goOXOTz0N0w

Character Sketches:

Mature

Decisive Religious

GRAND
MOTHER

Far
Enthusiastic
Sighted

Determined

Helpful

Respectful Caring

GRAND
DAUGHTER

Kind Intelligent

Understanding
Chapter at a glance:

The author’s
grandmother had
never gone to
school as a young
In return, the author girl, but had
gifted her grandmother nursed a deep
her favourite story, desire to study.
Kashi Yatre, which had As she grew
inspired her to learn to older, she ensured
read and which had that her children,
now been published as and later, her
a novel. grandchildren
STORY LINE - were educated.

HOW I TAUGHT MY
GRANDMOTHER
TO READ
By Dussehra, the When she was not
grandmother had able to follow one of
learnt to read and on the stories that her
the day of Saraswati granddaughter used
Puja, she gifted her to read out to her, she
granddaughter determined to learn
material for a frock to read, even though
and touched her feet She asked her
granddaughter to be her she was sixty two
as a mark of respect years old.
for her young teacher. The author was
teacher. amazed at the sincerity
and dedication with
which she applied herself
to her studies.

Glossary

Ardent – having strong and passionate feelings

Protagonist – the main character in the story
Savouring – enjoying a feeling or experience thoroughly
Embarrassed – To feel awkward or ashamed
Deadline – time or date by which a particular task is to be completed
Overcome – to succeed in dealing with problems
Obstacle – thing that makes something difficult to do
Scriptures – the sacred writings