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An excellent and Great Love Story of
Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder) and Sudha (From Sudha's Autobiography)
- pls dont miss it
An Inspiring Love story,, its worth, Read it !!
Love Story of Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder) and Sudha (From Sudha's
Autobiography)
It was in Pune that I met Narayan Murthy 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 Murthy 's name on them which meant
that I had a preconceived image of the man. Contrary to expectation,
Murthy 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
Murthy 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. Murthy waiting in front of
the hotel and it was only seven. Till today, Murthy 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 Murthy
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
Murthy’s experiences abroad and the books that he has read. My
friends insisted that Murthy as trying to impress me because he was
interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner
Murthy 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 Murthy 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 Murthy and his proposal. My
mother was positive since Murthy 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? Murthy 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 Murthy in Pune on a
particular day at 10 a. m sharp. Murthy 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 Murthy 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.
Murthy 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 Murthy
wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking
towards Murthy which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry
Murthy 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 Murthy
without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot marry anybody
else. My father said he would agree if Murthy promised to take up a
steady job. But Murthy 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, Murthy 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 Murthy’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
Murthy 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 Murthy 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 Murthy had a decent job,
now.
WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTHY '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 MURTHY AND I
POOLING IN RS 400 EACH.
I went to the US
with Murthy after marriage.. Murthy 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. Murthy 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 MURTHY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD A VISION AND ZERO
CAPITAL...initially I was very apprehensive about Murthy 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 Murthy
was passionate about creating good quality software. I decided to support
him. Typical of Murthy, 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!
Murthy and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981, with enormous
interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with
Murthy. 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 . Murthy 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, Murthy left for the US
on project work. I saw him only after a year, as I was unable to join
Murthy 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 Murthy 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. Murthy 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 Murthy 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 Murthy '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 Murthy’s dream. It
was a big sacrifice but it was one that had to be made. Even today,
Murthy says, Sudha, I stepped on your career to make mine. You are
responsible for my success.
That's the Power of Love.
Every man needs a woman to motivate him and
to give him a reason to live......
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