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376-379 Dr. P. N. MESHRAM
376-379 Dr. P. N. MESHRAM
RESEARCH ARTICLE
ABSTRACT
Sudha Murty’s ‘The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk’ (Life Stories Here And There) is a
collection of real life stories delighting the readers of all ages. Over the years, Sudha
Murty has come across some fascinating characters in the real life whose lives made
an indelible impression upon her mind and compelled her to write interesting stories
about them because all these female protagonists had an astonishing lesson to reveal.
This is really great book that describes down to detail about how myriad characters,
circumstances and events have had a prominent effect on the author’s life. The best
touch to this collection is that these are true life stories and we know that good
people do still walk this earth. Author writes about life, observations and experiences
and that makes these little gems of stories more enjoyable. She works towards the
betterment of the society and rural development. She aims to provide the
government aided schools with computer education library facility. Apart from all her
social work, she even taught computer science. She is also renowned author of many
fiction novels. She is also a member of healthcare initiatives of the Gates Foundation.
The present paper is an attempt to highlight the female characters -- protagonists -- in
the selected stories of Sudha Murty and explore their predicament and the way they
overcame their predicament in their lives.
In the story, ‘Bombay to Banglore’, Sudha to pay from Bombay to Bangalore Sudha Murty paid
Murty was boarding Udyan Express at Gulbarga it.
railway station as her destination was Bangalore. As the train approached Bangalore, the girls
The ticket collector asked the thirteen years thin, started talking. Her name was Chitra and she lived in
dark and scared girl who was hiding under Sudha a village near Bidar. Her father was a coolie and she
Murty’s berth. The girl did not say anything and lost her mother at birth and father remarried. But a
stood quietly. Ticket Collector caught hold of her few months ago, her father died. Her step mother
arms and told her to get down at the next station started beating her often and did not give her food.
and he started forcibly pulling her out from the She was tired of that life. So she left home in search
compartment. The travellers around the girl were of something better. Sudha Murty admitted Chitra in
not bothered at all and went about their business. the shelter home and highschool where she scored
Suddenly Sudha Murty had a strange feeling. She 85 percent in tenth. Then she did her diploma in
stood up and called the T.C. “Sir, I will pay for her Computer Science. She got a job in a software
ticket. It is getting dark. I do not want a young girl on company. She was lucky because after some years
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the platform at this time.” She said T.C. asked her her company was sending her to the USA!