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SCRF: Grandma tales fame Sudha Murty looks at audiobook to connect with children
Celebrated author, educator and philanthropist Sudha Murty left a packed hall of all age groups at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) captivated and craving for more just as her books do even at the age of 72.
Her session, titled ‘Tales of Grandma’, was the highlight of the day and the organisers even had to shut the doors midway into the session after the alleys also filled up with people standing. Many trooped in a little late because there were no clear directions on the agenda.
The love and affection from the children and parents alike, clamouring for pictures, blessings and signed autographs on her books, became so overbearing that the SCRF security had to called it off fearing a stampede on the dias.
Ms Murty, awarded India’s highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan last month, regaled the audience with tales as a grandmother would. Asked to choose a favourite among her published works, she said: “It is difficult to ask a mother to choose between her children, and my books are my children.” the author of 44 books (29 in English and 15 in Kannada) acknowledged that she now releases one book a year.
The Intellectual Hall at the Expo Centre was packed to the rafters. SCRF
To an interesting question about embracing technology through mediums such as podcasts to deliver her stories, Ms Murty gave a revealing confession. “I have always been comfortable just writing. Lately, I have been told that I need to look into new formats to share my stories. Podcasts are not for me. However, I recently requested my daughter to look into the possibility of audiobooks”.
Ms Murty’s advice to the young audience is to develop hobbies. “It can be anything, even one is fine if you pursue it in all earnest without letting your studies get affected. In fact, the hobby will help you focus on your studies, while also helping you become a better person.”
For the uninitiated, most of Ms Murty’s books are based on her real-life experiences, and hence “non-fiction to a large extent,” she said. Among her latest works has been a three-book set: Gopi Diaries. Citing the latest trilogy as an example, Ms Murty revealed that Gopi in the book is actually his dog. She also shared anecdotes of how the dog was initially unwanted, but ended up becoming “my son” within a year of entering the household.
Ms Murty is a philanthropist and wife of tech multinational Infosys head Narayan Murthy. Their daughter Akshata is married to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Recently, a video of her casual chat about Sunak went viral.
House of Wisdom visit
The author then visited the House of Wisdom (HoW), Sharjah’s iconic cultural centre and futuristic library, where she was introduced to the emirate’s efforts to promote culture, knowledge and innovation amongst the younger generation in the UAE and beyond. She sifted through HoW’s exhaustive physical and digital archives and was briefed on the various programmes and initiatives led by HoW to stimulate imaginations and boost cross-cultural understanding and exchange.
As part of her tour through HoW’s world-class facilities, Ms Murty stopped at the Little Reader section, where she was briefed on the events and workshops that are designed exclusively for children in order to develop their skills in a variety of areas. She also reviewed the wide-ranging collection of children and young adult titles in English, Arabic and other languages.
Emirates Engineering has launched a new programme giving UAE university students the chance to transform retired aircraft materials into innovative products while gaining hands-on experience with the airline’s engineering teams.
Called Material Futures Studio, the six-week initiative is led by Emirates Engineering’s Upcycling department. It aims to inspire the next generation of aviation engineers by challenging students to find creative new uses for materials recovered from retired aircraft.
The first edition brings together 23 students from Khalifa University, Emirates Aviation University and the University of Sharjah.
Students began the programme with an orientation session and a behind-the-scenes tour of Emirates Engineering’s facilities in Dubai, where they met senior leaders, explored aircraft maintenance operations and visited the airline’s upcycling workshop to see how retired aircraft materials are already being turned into new products.
How the programme works
Over six weeks, participants will develop concepts and prototypes using materials recovered from retired aircraft, with guidance from Emirates Engineering specialists throughout the design and development process.
The programme will conclude with a showcase where students present their final ideas and prototypes.
According to Emirates, the initiative is designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry by giving students practical engineering experience while enabling the airline to tap into fresh ideas and emerging talent.
Part of Emirates’ sustainability efforts
Material Futures Studio builds on Emirates’ wider sustainability strategy and its multi-billion-dollar aircraft retrofit programme.
The airline is currently refurbishing 219 Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft, one of the largest retrofit projects in the aviation industry. Rather than discarding materials removed during the upgrades, Emirates Engineering has been repurposing them into new products through its in-house upcycling projects.
These include the Aircrafted by Emirates collection of limited-edition luggage, bags and accessories made from reclaimed aircraft materials, as well as Aircrafted KIDS, which transforms retired aircraft fabrics into backpacks for children. Emirates says more than 4,000 backpacks have already been donated to children in 11 countries.
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