Wise and Otherwise – Sudha Murty

Wise and Otherwise is a beautiful compilation of bittersweet anecdotes from the author’s own life. This compilation of short stories is authored by Sudha Murty who is a teacher, author and a social worker by profession. Chairperson of Infosys Foundation and Padma Shri, Sudha Murty has made significant contributions in the development of rural parts of India covering poverty alleviation, women empowerment, healthcare and education among others. More can be read here.

Five pointers I took away from this book:

1. Time is the greatest teacher.
   Not everyone you help in your life will acknowledge the help in the future. Some might even ignore it and some will hold you in the highest regards for the rest of their lives. It goes without saying that one must not expect anything in return while helping others but at the same time one must also be prepared for total ignorance about the matter or similar unexpected behaviour in the future.
2. Life is a mix of positive and negative experiences.
   It is irrational to expect only positive experiences from our lives. Negative experiences are almost inevitable and happen irrespective of one’s socioeconomic status, age or background.
3. Smallest of the incidents around us can have a life-changing impact on us. Be open to all kinds of experiences.
   In one of the anecdotes, the author describes an amazing transformation of her friend who goes from being highly negative about every aspect of life to a totally positive and an energetic person. The name of the story is – “A lesson in life from a beggar”.
4. A man from the tribal land of Kalahandi or a businessman having the finest scotch in an elite club, both will have wisdom to share backed by their own personal experiences.
   If we keep our preconceived notions aside, we open doors to an unfathomable pool of wisdom.
5. The best culture is the one in which we rejoice in each other’s success.
   But that’s an ideal world and in reality, we are usually surrounded with at least a handful of people who spend most of their energy in criticizing others. The ones who always feel that there is foul play in everything and hardly ever appreciate the efforts. People sometimes fail to understand the difference between constructive feedback and plain criticism and ruin the relationship in the process. Some criticize directly while some sweet coat it with a sly taunt. I personally follow this mantra – “If something is costing you your peace of mind, it is too expensive of an investment” and never hesitate to liquefy the investment when the time comes.

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That was it for this read. Below is some meta info if you plan on reading the book.

1. Type: Non-fiction
2. Category: Chill read, bed-time stories
3. Recommended background music: ChilledCow Lo-Fi 😉

Here’s an interesting quote from one of the stories which had caught my attention:

A knife is very essential in the kitchen, but it can also be a horrible weapon that can take life. It depends on who wields it.