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Mysore, though popular as a tourist destination, very rarely gets global attention. But with Infosys celebrating its 25th anniversary here, we have finally got our due. What made it even better is the fact that the man behind it all, N.R. Narayana Murthy, is from Mysore. We being a local newspaper had to get some time with Narayana Murthy. When I asked the PR coordinator about arranging for an interview with Murthy, she said, "there are too many media people, so your best bet is to grab him when he is walking around".

After the press conference, I walked up to the dais and introduced myself to Murthy and told him I'm from a local English newspaper to which he replied, "Yes, I know Star of Mysore" and immediately turned to his PR person Bani Paintal Dhawan and told her to arrange for an interview. But the PR person told him that his schedule was booked and that next day he would have to go to Bangalore, to which I said I could come to Bangalore. At this point, Narayana Murthy smiled and said, "Vikram let me make life easy for you, why don't we talk over breakfast at the Floating Restaurant tomorrow morning at 7.45." So I had finally squeezed my way through for an interview.

The morning after:
As I drove towards Infosys the next morning, I had many questions running through my head for this “icon” and a “poster child” for all things noble. I also had many questions that would probably make him uncomfortable. So I had to pick the questions carefully and more importantly the questions had to have some relevance to Mysore and Mysoreans — our readers.

I arrived at the Infosys campus at 7.30 a. m. from where Bani ushered me into the beautiful Floating Restaurant. It's called so because it is surrounded by a water body and is supposed to give an impression that it's floating on water. The restaurant has the ambience and décor that can match any restaurant in the world. Anyway Bani and I sat around chatting when Narayana Murthy arrived at 7.50, impeccably dressed in a gray suit and a sombre tie. He immediately took off his coat, asked what I wanted to have and ordered for upma, chutney and a bowl of sambar for himself. He made himself comfortable and said, "let's start".

How does it feel to be back in Mysore?
After a long period of probably 39 years, I have spent 3 days in Mysore. So coming back to your roots, coming to the place where you have spent your happiest moments is always a pleasant experience.

Where do you stay when you come to Mysore?
Before the campus was built, I stayed in my house at V.V. Mohalla but after the campus was built I somehow don't even have enough time to go there.

So who stays there now?
I have given it on a pro bono basis, a free basis, as a guest house to the company's employees who want to see Mysore. So the company employees are using it.

After your retirement, do you plan to settle down here in Mysore?
Yeah, I would definitely like to be back in Mysore but given that I travel a lot to international destinations ahh… being in Mysore perhaps looks difficult.

Is it because Mysore does not have an airport?
Yes, because you know I spend about 20-22 days in a month abroad and I make about 7 to 8 visits a year, so I find Bangalore more convenient.

Why was Mysore chosen as the place to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Infosys?
There are multiple reasons why we had our 25th anniversary here in Mysore. One, we wanted to start this 25th year celebrations amongst youngsters. The largest numbers of youngest people in Infosys are our trainees, who are here in Mysore. There are 4000 of them here today, so that's the first reason.

Second, we were conducting our analysts meet, which is meeting the financial analysts, giving them details of what has happened in the past, what's our strategy, all of that. This happens once in a year, and we had not shown them Mysore, so we thought we will showcase Mysore.

The third thing is we felt that on the global scene it is a good idea to give a city like Mysore some exposure. There were so many global TV channels here yesterday; almost all the US news channels covered the NASDAQ ceremony. The name of Mysore was mentioned. Never before has it happened in the history of this city's 1000, I don't know 2000 years or whatever it is. So we felt it's a good thing to do this here.

You are the Chief Mentor of Infosys; truth is I had never heard of such a designation until you got it; but who was your mentor and role model?
In fact I'm the first person in the world to have that designation. That's why you never heard of it before. I learnt different things from different people. Obviously, my father was a very deep influence in teaching me values like work ethic, professionalism, honesty ah… putting the interest of the community ahead of one's own interest, all of that. Mother was a great influence in teaching ah…. compassion, sacrifice and you know enjoying the glory of others etc.

Then I've had some teachers. I had a wonderful high school head master here in Mysore named K. V. Narayan, when I was here in Sharada Vilas High School between 1959 and 61. I did my 10th and 11th, that is SSLC and one year after, here in Sharada Vilas. Narayan was an extraordinary person and he clearly had a lasting influence on all of us, all students.

Then I had professors in various parts of life who influenced me; for example I had a professor, Dr. N. Krishna Murthy here at NIE. He was a civil engineer and the first person to open our minds to what was happening outside India. I remember he came back from the US in 1964 and opened our eyes, you know, to what was happening there. He made us realise that there is a city called New York and London and all of that.

You were on the Governing Council of SJCE. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate if you were on the Governing Council of NIE as you are an alumnus of that college?
I think you have to ask the NIE people that question.

Did they ever invite you to join their Governing Council?
No. They never did.

But if they did, will you accept their invitation?
There are certain issues, if those issues are sorted out then certainly. There are a host of extraordinary NIE alumni who would certainly want to add value here.

You once remarked, "being labelled a national icon can wreak havoc on one's ego", how have you managed to keep yours in check?
First of all I realise that I am an average person. That also means that any average person by working hard and working a little bit smart can add value. Second is, I realise that this is like a revolving search light. You can never know when it might go out. You should not get too excited about it just because it's shining on you now. It will go away; so all this fame is very transitory.

Your father loved western classical music. Do you love western classical music too?
Oh yeah, very much. I do love western classical music because he influenced us and he taught us how in western classical music a group of people who are maestros in their own right come together, subordinate their ego and work as a team to produce something divine. So to me a symphony, an orchestra, is a great example of team work.

The Global Education Centre in Mysore has a supermarket, a multiplex, a huge Gym etc. This campus is pretty much self - sustained. Isn't this very discouraging for the development of the local economy?
No, not really because there are about 2000 Infoscians who work on this campus but who live in the city. The only people who live on the campus are our trainees, and we make sure they work very hard. They have many assignments, they start from morning 7.30 and go up to night 8.30 to 9 and they have no time to go for a hair cut outside, remember the city is far off. They don't have time to go wash their clothes, so we provide them laundry service. They don't have time to go outside to shop for toothpaste and other such basic toiletries, so we have provided them a supermarket. They have no time to go into the city and play games, so we have provided them all the facilities right here, and ah… on the other hand every weekend they all go out into the city, they go out and spend a lot of money in the city.

A few months ago a couple of professors from the US had come down and I showed them this campus. After the tour, they couldn't stop raving about it, but one professor remarked, "they seem to be building a Utopian society here, it might lead to an elitist mindset." What do you have to say to that?
You have been in the US. You know it's like this there, even in Europe it's like this, in Japan it's like this. We have to try and make sure that the whole country becomes like this, and if somebody does not start today it will never happen. So instead of saying we'll all live in misery, we'll all live dirty, we'll all live poor, we should say what does it take to become another Infosys. I would look at it like that rather than trying to bring down and say we'll all be dirty and we'll all be poor, you know.

Sir you once quoted US President Eisenhower who said "a people who value their privileges above their principles will soon lose both." There is talk that Infoscians are pompous. Do you think that Infoscians now value their privileges more? People say Infoscians can be seen wearing their badges late at night, even while dining outside. Is it the pride of working for Infosys?
No. Not at all. You have to understand that some of them who come here have worked very hard to be here, and not all of them come from privileged backgrounds. So at times some of them are overwhelmed by this new, promising avenue of success and may be, they become a bit arrogant but one cannot just generalize. We have a good value system here.

About Infoscians being seen late at night wearing their badges is not because they want to show it off. It's because if they take it off they might lose it and then it becomes a problem for them to get back into the campus late at night, if they are living on campus that is. Moreover they will have to go through the inconvenience of getting a new one.

There is a joke doing the rounds that "In Infosys, trespassers will be recruited" keeping in mind the major recruitment drive where Infosys has been recruiting Environmental engineers and Mechanical engineers and turning them into programmers. Don't you think you are killing other professions? This seems similar to the "Dutch Disease"?
That's not right. I believe that indeed an electrical engineer should go on to build electrical power projects; a civil engineer should go on to build bridges and buildings; but we have a shortage of talent. It is the duty of the government to provide more schools and more seats. Today there is a genuine need for more computer engineers, but how many new professionally run professional colleges have you seen being set up. The industry needs talent and it's the duty of the government to acknowledge this requirement and give permission to open more colleges and more importantly make sure that these colleges provide good education. It is essential to have high quality people in general industries as well since they are the ones who provide the basic infrastructure within which IT exists.

You are retiring at 60, which is very young by today's norm. Why this early retirement?
Yes it is, but I will retire. I believe in making room for the youth. We have to give other people a chance and more importantly a chance for the youngsters to show their skill and prove themselves. Look at our politicians, we have Ministers who are so old that they cannot even remember the last question asked, but then they still want to hold on to their seats instead of making way for new talent and youth. Some of them are so old that they don't even remember which board meeting they are sitting in. That being said, I want to make way for growth by making space for new talents.

I remember long ago you had written to the Ministry of External Affairs asking them to issue 240 - page passports? So have you received your 240 - page passport yet?
Oh! NO, let alone the 240 - page passport, I still haven't got a reply to the suggestion letter I sent them. I just wanted them to realise that in this industry or any other industry where people travel a lot, it would be convenient for people to have a passport with more pages. It would both simplify our lives and the governments. We wouldn't have to keep going to the passport office after every second trip abroad. But the government doesn't seem to hear.

Sir, everyday we hear of governmental failure and corruption. In fact corruption in India started just six months after the British left us, when Krishna Menon was involved in Rs. 80 lakh Jeep scam. Do you think that there is something inherently wrong with Indians when it comes to morals and ethics?
Not at all. We have just been led by bad examples. Let me tell you a short story. Once an old man and his son had a disagreement and the old man, not able to take the harassment anymore, told his son that it was better if he buried him alive. So the son took his shovel and got ready to go out to the field and dig a pit to bury his old man. Just then his little son, who was there, also wanted to go to the field with him. So the father took his son along to the field. Half way into digging the pit, the father realised his son who was a little distance away was also digging a pit.

When the father asked the little fellow what he was doing, the little boy replied, "You are digging a pit to bury your father and just like you, some day I might have to bury you. So I'm starting right now." This is the kind of example we've had, but that was then. Nowadays we have fantastic examples to follow. Open a newspaper and you will find heroic stories in honesty and will to achieve. And today's youth have the intellect to choose the right path.

Will your children join Infosys?
No. My son Rohan is in the US and he will come back here and do what he thinks is good for him, what he loves. We will encourage him no matter what he chooses. My daughter Akshata, who is here for the celebrations, has decided to work for a few years in the US.

Sir, what is your advice to the youth?
I would say to all youngsters, our country today is in the threshold of development and change. This is your chance to grab it and make a success out of it. And, to do that you have to work hard and more importantly work smart. I honestly believe Indian youth have the maturity and ability to take this nation to the next level. All they have to do is "follow their bliss."

With this answer, he also finished downing his coffee, stood up and said good - bye with a warm embrace. I started to put my notes back while he walked towards the waiting NDTV crew and a whole bunch of photographers. As I was about to leave my table, I noticed that Murthy had left behind his cell phone. As I walked up to him to give it, I heard him introduce the NDTV anchor as the most famous anchor in India. With his cell phone in hand, I butted in saying, "I'd be the most infamous journalist if I walked out with your cell phone" and handed it over to him. He had a hearty laugh even as he wished me all the best.

While I was walking towards my car, I couldn't help but compare Narayana Murthy to R. K Laxman's famous cartoon character “Common Man”. Narayana Murthy is every bit a common man, his down to earth attitude, his ability to absorb and observe and like Laxman's Common Man, he too has suffered at the hands of politicians. But unlike Laxman's “Common Man”, Murthy didn't just stand there watching. Instead he has done what most people thought was not possible. He has changed what people thought could not be changed and has succeeded in running a company, in a way previously thought impossible in India. Many of us Indians who are represented by Laxman's “Common Man” have now found in N. R. Narayana Murthy a new “Common Man”, a Common Man who inspires hope, a common man who inspires you to dream and gives you moral strength to realise that dream. What an ideal “Common Man” to emulate in these changing times.

Vikram Muttanna
Courtesy: Star of Mysore