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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(TataMotors). 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 as 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 as 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
an! d I can never give you any riches. You are
beautiful, bright, and 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 build an
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 at10 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
12noon 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.
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 the
New York police took me into custody 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 about
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 et al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and his
wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini babysat my son,
I wrote programs for Infosys. There was no car, no
phone, and 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 also 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 realized 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.
Great .... That's the Power of Love. |
