Sudha Murty

We can spend Rs 5,000 for a meal at the Taj and thousands on all kinds of shopping, but we're always stingy about books. We always think of borrowing. Why? Writers can use some support. If you have space and money, you should buy your own books.

I came from a middle-class family. My father was a professor in a medical college, and my mother was a schoolteacher. We led a good life but we did not have much money.

There were instances when I felt cheated because my feeling of social service was neither acknowledged or reciprocated by the second party. It is with growing age and experience that I realised, I was doing it for myself and not for others. Hence, I found my happiness and satisfaction in it.