[nukkad] The Making of Murthy (Infosys?)

["Sathya Keerthy R.A" <>]

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Infosys Murthy's wife narration...

Its a loooong one, but MUST read ...........

Initially,  I  would do my work with no interaction with the men. Then I
learnt  their language as half the battle is won when you can speak the
adversary's language.

They began letting me step into their space. My stint  at the  shop
floor has been a boon because today I have  a greater  cross reference
of mechanical  industry than Murty.  I  worked in Jamshedpur and in
Bihar too.

  WHEN NARAYAN MURTY PROPOSED TO ME HE SAID, SUDHA I WILL NEVER BE
RICH IN MY LIFE. I CAN NEVER GIVE  YOU THE RICHES THAT   MONEY
CAN  BUY. WILL YOU MARRY ME? ..

It  was  in Pune that  I met Narayan Murty through my friend Prasanna
who is  now the Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco.

Most of the books that Prasanna lent me had Murty's name on  them
which meant that I had a preconceived image  of the man.

  Contrary to expectation, Murty was shy, bespectacled  and an
introvert. When he invited us for dinner. I was a  bit taken aback
as I thought the young man was making a very fast  move. I refused
since I was the only girl in  the group.  But  Murty was relentless
and we all decided  to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30 p.m at
Green Fields hotel  on the Main Road, Pune. The next day I went there
at  7  o clock since I had to go to the tailor near  the hotel.  And
what do I see? Mr Murty waiting in front of the  hotel  and  it was
only  seven.  Till  today, Murty maintains that  I had mentioned
(consciously!) that  I would  be going to the tailor at 7 so that I
could meet him.  And  I maintain that I did not say any  such thing
consciously  or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty  as
anything other than a friend at that stage.  We have agreed to disagree
on this matter.

  Soon,  we became friends. Our conversations  were filled with
Murty's experiences abroad and the books that he has read.  My  friends
insisted that Murty  was trying  to impress  me  because  he was interested
in me.  I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty
said,  I want  to tell you something. I knew this was it. It  was
coming.

He  said, I am 5'4" tall. I come  from  a lower middle  class family.
I can never become rich in my life and  I can never give you any riches.
You are beautiful, bright, intelligent and you can get anyone you want.
But will you marry me? I asked Murty to give me some time for an answer.

  My  father didn't want me to marry a wannabe politician, (a
communist at that) who didn't have a steady job  and wanted  to  buildan
orphanage... When I went to Hubli  I told  my parents about Murty and
his proposal. My mother was positive since Murty was also from karnataka,
seemed intelligent  and comes from a good family. But my father asked:

What's  his  job, his salary,  his qualifications etc?  Murty was
working as a research assistant and  was earning less than me. He
was willing to go dutch with  me on our outings.

  My  parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day  at 10
a.m. sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can  I trust a man to take care of
my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment, asked my father. At 12 noon
Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay,
was stuck in a traffic jam on the  ghats, so he hired  a taxi  (though it
was very expensive for him) to meet  his would-be  father-in-law.  My
father was unimpressed.  My father asked him what he wanted to become
in life. Murty said  he wanted to become a politician in  the communist
party and wanted to open an orphanage.

  My father gave his verdict. No. I don't want my daughter to  marry
somebody who wants to become a communist  and then open an orphanage
when he himself didn't have money to  support his family. Ironically,
today, I have opened many  orphanages  something which Murty wanted to
do 25 years ago.

  By this time I realized I had developed a liking towards Murty
which could only be termed as love. I wanted  to marry  Murty
because he is an honest man. He proposed  to me highlighting the
negatives in his life.

I promised  my father that I will not marry Murty without his blessings
though at the same time, I cannot marry anybody else.  My father said
he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady  job.  But  Murty
refused saying he  will not  do things in life because somebody wanted
him to. So, I  was caught between the two most important people in my
life.

  The stalemate continued for three years during which  our courtship
took us to every  restaurant and cinema hall  in Pune.

  In  those  days,  Murty was always  broke. Moreover,  he didn't earn
much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd
one of the world's  most reputed companies.  He  always owed me money.
We used to go  for dinner and he would say, I don't have money with me,
you pay my share, I will return it to you later.  For three years  I
maintained a book on Murty's debt to me.

No,  he never  returned the money and I finally tore it up after my
wedding. The amount was a little over Rs 4000.

During this  interim  period  Murty quit  his  job  as research assistant
and started his own software business. Now,  I had to pay his salary
too!

  Towards  the late 70s computers were entering India in  a big way.
During the fag end of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General
Manager at Patni Computers in Bombay. But  before he joined the
company he wanted to marry  me since  he was to go on training to the
US after joining.

  My father gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now.

  WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTY'S HOUSE IN BANGALORE ON FEBRUARY 10,  1978
WITH ONLY OUR TWO FAMILIES PRESENT. I GOT  MY FIRST SILK SARI. THE
WEDDING EXPENSES CAME TO ONLY RS 800 (US $ 17)  WITH MURTY AND I POOLING
IN RS 400 EACH.

  I  went  to  the  US with  Murty  after  marriage. Murty encouraged
me to see America on my own because  I loved travelling. I toured America
for three months on backpack and  had interesting experiences which will
remain fresh in  my mind forever. Like the time when I was taken into
custody by the New York police because they thought I was an Italian
trafficking drugs in Harlem. Or  the time when I spent the night at
the bottom of the Grand Canyon with an  old couple. Murty panicked
because he couldn't get  a  response from my hotel room even at midnight.
He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.

  IN  1981 MURTY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD  A VISION AND  ZERO
CAPITAL... initially I was  very apprehensive bout  Murty getting into
business. We did not have  any business background. Moreover we were
living   a  comfortable life in Bombay with a regular pay check and I
didn't  want to rock the boat. But Murty  was passionate about
creating good quality software.  I decided  to support him. Typical of
Murty, he just had a dream and no money.  So I gave him Rs 10,000 which
I had saved for a rainy  day, without his knowledge and told him, This
is all  I have. Take it. I give you three  years sabbatical leave.  I
will take care of the financial needs of  our house. You go and chase
your dreams without  any worry.

  But you have only three years!.

  Murty  and  his six colleagues started Infosys  in 1981, with
enormous interest and hard work. In  1982 I  left Telco  and  moved to
Pune with Murty. We bought a small house on loan which also became the
Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook-cum-programmer. I also took up a
job  as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of Industries to
support  the house. In 1983 Infosys got  their first client, MICO, in
Bangalore.


  Murty moved to Bangalore and stayed with his mother while I  went to
Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan.  Ten days  after  my son was
born, Murty left for  the US  on project work. I saw him only after a
year as I was unable to  join  Murty in the US because my  son  had
infantile eczema,  an allergy to vaccinations. So for more  than  a year
I did not step outside our home for fear of my  son contracting an
infection. It was only after Rohan got all his vaccinations that I came
to Bangalore where we rented  a small house in Jayanagar and rented another
house  as Infosys headquarters.   My  father  presented Murty   a  scooter
to commute. I once  again  became  a cook, programmer,  clerk,  secretary,
office assistant

  Nandan  Nilekani  (MD  of Infosys) and  his  wife Rohini stayed
with us. While Rohini baby sat my son,  I wrote programmes for Infosys.

  There was no car, no phone, just two kids and a bunch  of us working
hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys  was  taking
shape. It was not only  me but  the wives  of  other partners too who
gave their unstinted support.  We all knew that our men were trying  to
build something  good.  It was like a big joint family, taking care
and looking out for one another. I  still remember  Sudha  Gopalakrishna
looking after my  daughter Akshata with  all care and love while
Kumari Shibulal cooked  for all of us.

  Murty  made it very clear that it would either be me  or him working
at Infosys. Never the two of us together... I was  involved  with Infosys
initially.  Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty
said he  did not  want  a  husband and wife team  at  Infosys.
I  was shocked since I had the relevant experience and technical
qualifications.  He said, Sudha if you want to work with Infosys,  I
will withdraw, happily. I was pained to know that I will not be involved
in the company my husband was building and that I would have to give
up a job that I am qualified to do and love doing. It took me a couple
of days to  grasp  the reason  behind  Murty's request.  I realised
that to make Infosys a success one had to give one's 100  percent. One
had to be focussed on  it  alone with no other distractions. If the two
of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then what would happen to our
home and our children? One of us had to take care of our home while
the  other took care of Infosys. I opted to be  a homemaker, after all
Infosys was Murty's dream. It was  a big  sacrifice but it was one that
had to be  made.

Even   today,  Murty  says, Sudha, I stepped on your career  to make
mine. You are responsible for my success.

  I  might have given up my career for my  husband's sake. But that
does not make me a  doormat... Many think that  I  have  been made the
sacrificial lamb at Narayan Murty's altar  of  success.  A few women
journalists  have even accused  me of setting a wrong example by giving
up  my dreams to make my husbands a reality. Isnt freedom about   living
your life the way you want it? What is right  for one  person might be
wrong for another. It is up to  the individual  to  make a choice that
is  effective in  her life.  I feel that when a woman gives up  her right
to choose for herself is when she crosses over from being an individual
to a doormat. Murty's dreams encompassed  not only himself  but a
generation of people. It  was about founding something worthy, exemplary
and honorable.  It was about creation and distribution of wealth. His
dreams were grander than my career plans, in all aspects.  So, when  I
had to choose between Murty's career and mine,  I opted for what I thought
was a right choice.

  We  had a home and two little children.  Measles, mumps, fractures,
PTA meetings,  wants and  needs  of growing children do not care much for
grandiose dreams. They just needed to be attended to. Somebody had to
take care of it all. Somebody had to stay back to create a home
base that would be fertile for healthy growth, happiness, and  more
dreams to dream. I became that somebody willingly.

  I  can  confidently say that if I had had  a  dream like Infosys,
Murty would have given me his unstinted support. The  roles would have been
reversed. We are not bound  by the archaic rules of marriage. I cook
for him but I don't wait  up to serve dinner like a traditional wife.
So,  he has  no hassles about heating up the food and having  his
dinner. He does not intrude into my time especially when I am writing my
novels. He does not interfere in my work at the Infosys Foundation and
I don't interfere with  the running  of Infosys. I teach Computer Science
to MBA and MCA students at Christ college for a few hours every week and
I earn around Rs 50,000  a  year. I value this financial  independence
greatly though there is  no need for me to pursue a teaching career. Murty
respects that. I  travel  all over the world without  Murty because he
hates  travelling.   We trust each other implicitly.  We have another
understanding too. While he earns the money, I spend it, mostly through
the charity. Philanthropy is a profession and an art...  The Infosys
Foundation was born in 1997 with the sole objective  of uplifting the
less-privileged sections of society. IN THE PAST  THREE  YEARS WE HAVE
BUILT HOSPITALS, ORPHANAGES, REHABILITATION CENTRES, SCHOOL BUILDINGS,
SCIENCE CENTRES AND MORE THAN 3500 LIBRARIES.  Our work is mainly in  the
rural areas amongst women and children. I am one of  the trustees  and
our activities span six  states including   Karnataka,  Tamil  Nadu,
Andhra, Orissa, Chandigarh  and Maharashtra. I travel to around 800 villages
constantly. Infosys Foundation has a minimal staff of three trustees
and three  office  members. We all  work  very hard  to achieve  our
goals and that is the  reason  why Infosys Foundation has a distinct
identity.


  Every  year  we donate around Rs 5-6 crore (Rs 50 - 60 million).  We
run Infosys Foundation the way  Murty runs Infosys in a professional
and   scientific way. Philanthropy  is a profession and an art. It can
be used or misused. We slowly want to increase the donations  and
we  dream of a time when Infosys Foundation could donate large amounts
of money. Every year we receive more than 10,000  applications  for
donations. Everyday  I receive more  than 120 calls. Amongst these,
there are those  who genuinely need help and there are hood winkers too.

  I  receive  letters asking me to donate Rs five lakh  to someone
because five lakh is, like peanuts  to Infosys. Some  people write to
us asking for free Infosys shares. Over  the years I have learnt to
differentiate the wheat from the chaff, though I still give a patient
hearing  to all  the cases. Sometimes I feel I have lost the ability
to trust people. I have become shrewder to  avoid being conned. It
saddens me to realise that even as a person is talking to me I try to
analyse them:
Has he come here for any  donation?  Why is he praising my work  or
enquiring about  my health, does he want some money from me? Eight out
of ten times I am right. They do want my money. But I feel bad for the
other two whom I suspected. I think that is  the price that I have to
pay for the position that  I am in now. The greatest difficulty in
having money is teaching your children  the  value of it and trying
to keep them on  a straight line...  Bringing  up  children  in  a
moneyed atmosphere is a difficult task. EVEN TODAY I THINK TWICE  IF
I HAVE TO SPEND RS 10 ON AN AUTO WHEN I CAN WALK UP TO MY  HOUSE.  I
cannot expect my children to do the same.

They have seen money from the time they were born. But we can  lead
by example. When they see Murty wash his  own plate after eating and
clean the two toilets in the house everyday   they  realise  that  no
work is demeaning irrespective of how rich you are.

  I DON'T HAVE A MAID AT HOME BECAUSE I DON'T SEE THE NEED FOR
ONE. When children see both  parents  working hard, living a simple
life, most of the time  they tend  to follow.   This  doesn't mean we
expect our children  to live an austere life. My  children buy what
they want and go where  they want but they have  to  follow certain
rules.  They  will have to show  me a bill  for whatever they buy. My
daughter can buy five new outfits but she has  to give away five old
ones. My son can go  out with his friends for lunch or dinner but if he
wants to go  to a five star hotel, we discourage it. Or we accompany
him.

  So far my children haven't given me any heartbreak. They are good
children. My eldest daughter is studying abroad, whereas  my son is
studying in Bangalore. They don't  use  their father's name in vain.
If asked, they only say that his  name  is Murty and that he works for
Infosys.  They  don't  want to be recognised and appreciated because
of their  father  or me but for themselves.

I  DON'T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT HAVING MONEY FOR WE HAVE WORKED HARD FOR
IT. BUT  I  DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE FLAUNTING IT  ...IT IS  A CONSCIOUS
DECISION  ON OUR PART TO LIVE  A SIMPLE,  SO-CALLED  MIDDLE  CLASS
LIFE. WE LIVE  IN  THE  SAME TWO-BEDROOM, SPARSELY FURNISHED HOUSE
BEFORE INFOSYS BECAME A SUCCESS.

  Our  only extravagance is buying books and CDs. MY HOUSE HAS  NO
LOCKERS  FOR I HAVE NO JEWELS. I  WEAR  A STONE EARRING  WHICH I
BOUGHT IN BOMBAY FOR RS 100  I don't   even  wear  my  mangalsutra
until I attend some family functions or I am with my mother-in-law.
I am not fond of jewellery or saris. Five years ago, I went to Kashi
where tradition  demands that you give up something and I gave up
shopping. Since then I haven't bought myself a sari or gone  shopping.
It is my friends who gift me with saris. Murty bought me a sari a long
time ago. It was not to  my  taste and I told him to refrain from
buying saris for me in  the future. I am no good at selecting  men's
clothes either. It is my daughter who does the shopping for us. I still
have the same sofa at home which my daughter wants to change. However,
we have indulged ourselves with each one having their own music system
and computer.

  I don't carry a purse and neither does Murty most of  the time.  I
do tell him to keep some small change with  him but  he doesn't. I borrow 
money from my secretary or  my driver if I need cash. They know
my habit so they always carry  extra  cash with them. But I settle  the
accounts every evening. MURTY AND I ARE VERY COMFORTABLE WITH  OUR
LIFESTYLE AND WE DON'T SEE THE NEED TO CHANGE IT NOW THAT WE HAVE
MONEY.

  Murty  and  I  are two  opposites  that  complement each other...
Murty is sensitive and romantic in his own way. He always gifts me books
addressed to From Me to You.  Or to  the person I most admire etc. We
both love books.  We are both complete opposites. I am an extrovert
and he is an  introvert.  I love watching movies and listening  to
classical music. Murty  loves  listening  to English classical  music.
I go out for movies with  my students and  secretary  every  other week.
I am  still young  at heart. I really enjoyed watching "Kaho Na Pyaar Hai"  
and I am a Hrithik Roshan fan. It has been more than 20 years
since Murty and I went for a movie. My daughter once gave us  a
surprise by booking tickets for "Titanic". Since  I had a prior
engagement that day, Murty went for the movie with his secretary Pandu.
I love travelling whereas Murty loves spending time at home.


  Friends  come and go with the share prices... Even in  my dreams, I
did not expect Infosys to grow like the way  it has.  I don't think even
Murty envisioned this phenomenal success, at least not in 1981. After
Infosys went public in  1993,  we  became what people  would  call  as
rich, moneyed  people. I was shocked to see what was happening to
Infosys and to us. Suddenly you see and hear about  so much  money.
Your name and photo  is splashed in the papers. People talk about you.
It was all new to me.

  SUDDENLY  I HAVE PEOPLE WALKING UP TO ME SAYING, OH,  WE WERE SUCH
GOOD FRIENDS, WE HAD A MEAL 25 YEARS AGO. THEY CLAIM TO HAVE BEEN
PRESENT AT OUR WEDDING (WHICH IS AN UTTER  LIE  BECAUSE  ONLY MY FAMILY
WAS PRESENT AT  MY WEDDING). I DON'T EVEN KNOW ALL THESE PEOPLE WHO
CLAIM TO KNOW MURTY AND ME SO WELL.

  But  that  doesn't mean I don't have true friends. I  do have
genuine friends, a handful, who have been with  me for  a very long time. My 
equation with these people  has not  changed  and  vice versa.
I am also very close  to Narayan  Murty's  family,  especially  my
sister-in-law Kamala Murty, a school teacher, who is more of a dear
friend  to me. I have discovered that these are the  few relationships
and friendships that  don't fluctuate depending on the price of
Infosys shares.

  Have I lost my identity as a woman, in Murty's shadow?...

  No. I might be Mrs Narayan Murty. I might be Akshata and Rohan's
mother.  I  might  be  the  trustee  of Infosys Foundation. But I am
still Sudha. I play different roles like  all women. That doesn't
mean we don't have our  own identity.  Women have that extra quality of
adaptability and learn to fit into different shoes. But we are our own
selves still. And we have to exact our freedom by making the right
choices in our lives, dictated by us and not by the world.


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