Let's Talk About Books- Wise and Otherwise by Sudha Murthy

   I recently re-read "Wise and Otherwise" by Sudha Murthy. And, I have to say it is one of the best books that there are. I read the book when I was younger, and I was not able to grasp the ingenuity of the book's name.Trust me, it will give you a chuckle when you read a few stories.

    Wise and Otherwise is a collection of true short stories, written according to the point of view of the writer. Some of the stories are heart touching,some are mildly enraging while also being funny, and some are so thought provoking that they force you to put the book down and think about the story. 

    My favorite one of the lot is the story titled Bonded by Bisleri. It tells the story of a family of beggars who lived in Mumbai,but went to Gujrat after the earthquake of 2001. Seems weird, right? It seemed to Sudha Murthy too. The family saw the news of disaster on TV and went to Gujrat. There in the calamity stricken stae, they found a better life than the one in Mumbai. There were many NGOs and people helping those that were displaced. This poor family also received help, rations and tents to stay. Not only that, but the mother and father also found jobs there. This story made me think about how different the lives of people are. And that difference transcends a whole another level when faced with calamities. This story had me thinking about the condition of people who are less fortunate, less privileged in today's time- the time of COVID-19. The countries that had a rampant homeless people "problem", suddenly found enough place for the homeless people to stay as  the situation worsened due to COVID. The hospitals and clinics who could not pay more than minimum wage, could now suddenly afford a double wage hike to make sure the workers kept working. People who had to work harder than most, just to make sure they had food to eat at least once in a day, could now eat thrice a day because of various NGOs and politicians helping them. But I digress. 

    Another one of my favorite story A Man too Clever by Half. In this story, a writer who wants Infosys Foundation to use his books as reading material goes into the office. And boasts of his "close" relationship with Sudha and Narayan Murthy. But the person he is boasting to- is actually Sudha Murthy. This one is a funny story, but also mildly infuriating.

    This book is full of beautiful stories. This is a must read for everyone. The language is very simple, and the flow is very neat. If you are taking up reading, you should start off with this book. The magic of this book is that you can consider it as light reading or you can consider it as thought provoking text, it's all on you.

    Do let me know if you have read it, and what your favorite story is. Signing off with a beautiful quote from the book-

                Education means more than scoring good marks in exams or receiving certificates, Life is an exam where the syllabus is unknown and question papers are not set.