Author, philanthropist and Rajya Sabha member, Sudha Murty, shared the stage with her daughter Akshata Murty at the prestigious Jaipur Literature Festival 2025 on Saturday, and together, the two discussed their love for books, and the former's earliest memories with books and learnings.

The session began with Akshata making a public declaration of her love and fondness for her mother. "I would just take this opportunity to tell you that I cherish you deeply, Amma. Our relationship is one I treasure in life in so many different ways. I love talking to you about anything and everything. So thank you for making time."

To that, the senior Murty, in her own signature style, quipped, "This is not a mother-daughter appreciation session. Let's talk about books."

Akshata shared that one of her earliest memories with her 'Amma' is that of her indulging in storytelling with her kids. "These were stories about ancient India. There were also stories about ancient Egypt, about different countries, different cultures. But you also told me stories about Marie Curie, Ada Lovelace. You taught me history, philosophy, science and politics, all through storytelling," she recalled.

She went on to say, "She also told my brother Rohan and me that of course, we learn to pass tests in schools, but we also learn for life. It's a never-ending process. She told us, 'The day you stop learning is the day you stop living'. And that really stayed with me. And now when I tell my daughters not just to learn for school, but for life."

Recalling her initial tryst with books, Sudha then shared, "I grew up not with a lot of money, but with a lot of books. When it comes to knowledge, books are irreplaceable. Knowledge is the most important thing in life and you need to learn that through books. And I passed it on to my children, Akshata and Rohan. Love books. They are our constant companions, they are our never failing friends."

The 74-year-old further narrated, "I grew up in a teachers' family, and well, I also got married into a family full of teachers, except Narayan Murthy -- he turned to business. So when you grow up in such a family, the one thing that you never lack is knowledge. Whatever the occasion be, our gifts would always be books. Whether it was my birthday or a festival or a milestone, my family would give me books. And we were told that knowledge is the greatest weapon in life; it cannot be destroyed."

Akshta chimed in how she too would receive books when she was young on every birthday. "But I got you samosas, wafers and toffees too!," Sudha added.
 
During the session, sudha also highlighted that there was no specific age to learn something new. Sharing an anecdote from her own life, she said, "My grandmother was 62 and I was 12, and she did not know the alphabets of the Kannada language, and she told me that she wanted to learn it. I was confused and reminded her that she was 62, but she said, 'For learning, age no bar'. So I taught her."

She continued, "I was a very strict teacher, because I finally had the power to teach someone who was much older than me. She learnt it all in 3 months, and when she started reading books, she came to me and touched my feet. I was shocked, aghast! How can an elderly person touch my feet? And she told me a beautiful sentence: Whosoever taught me even a single word, who bestowed me with knowledge, that person is my teacher. O teacher, I salute you!"

Sudha concluded the session by emphasising the need to promote reading among the youth today. "There are so many different avenues available today to learn today, but they cannot and must not replace books. Books open the window of imagination for the youth, and they will always be relevant to society, irrespective of era or generation."