POWER OF LOVE...
Roving on web I found
this narrative it was so touching, so thought why not preserve this. The below
story was taken from Mrs. Sudha Murty's Facebook post and no modification were
made to it. If you are here, then surely you are fascinated in Mrs. & Mr.
Murthy's life. This is such a regenerating post I hope you will like it……. J
POWER OF LOVE ;)
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... (Tata Motors). 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 an amazingly 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 keep
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 kept
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 enthusiastic about creating excellent 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 challenging 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 started 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 Gopala krishna looking after my daughter Akshata with all
care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it truly
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 handle my success.
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