I’m one of the hardest working people I know: Narayan Murthy

But Awasthi,22,joined Infosys the same week his idol was retiring from the company. At the Infosys training campus in Mysore,he was one of the thousands of trainees who watched Murthy’s farewell speech streamed live. “His legacy will stay forever,but I’m sad his physical presence will be missing,” he says.

Hundreds of thousands of young Indians like Awasthi vie for a coveted Infosys job each year. Only some 15,000 or thereabouts get selected each year. The company Murthy founded,with Rs 10,000 of his wife Sudha’s savings,has ballooned into a Rs 30,000-crore name,instantly recognisable as Indian.  It offers young Indians a professional brand and a respectability that was rare amongst Indian companies before Infosys.

A month into his “retirement”,the diminutive,unassuming man who transformed India’s corporate landscape leads a busy life. His new office,also the headquarters of his venture capital fund Catamaran,is in old Bangalore in the green,charming Jayanagar neighbourhood,a two-minute drive from his home. It is a modern 3,000 sq ft,three-storied building — more house than office — which Murthy built a few years ago in anticipation of a life post-Infosys.

The insides are subtle yet tasteful,the lower visitors’ lobby lined with book shelves holding varied tomes such as a Tagore Omnibus,Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom,the Letters and Notes of JRD Tata and even Learn Mandarin in a Month. A small picture of Raghavendra Swamy,the 17th century saint who Murthy reveres,stands on the top shelf. Murthy’s office is on the first floor.

One thing becomes abundantly clear within minutes of meeting Murthy. The drive and restlessness that spurred him to set up Infosys and establish it as a premier global outsourcing company have not faded one bit. In a rare moment of candour,the usually self-effacing Murthy says,“I’m one of the hardest working people I know.”

He still travels 20 or more days each month for meetings — of the HSBC board of which he is a member,and the United Nations Foundation,Ford Foundation and the Rhodes Trust,of which he is a trustee. On days he is in Bangalore,Murthy arrives at his office at 9am.

He spends the first hour answering email,hundreds of which are from young Indians. He is nearly always dressed in a jacket and a tie for formal meetings,the attire unchanged during his 30 years at Infosys. Over the years though,the jackets have become better cut,the shirt sleeves peep out (though his trousers still ride high on his waist as before),his thick spectacles now replaced with those made of non-reflective glass. On this particular day,his silk tie is a trendy turquoise blue. Is that his chic daughter Akshata’s doing? Murthy smiles.

Life after Infosys,Murthy says,is nearly as hectic as the three decades spent nurturing the company. He still wakes up at 5 in the morning,rarely making exceptions even on weekends. On this Monday,Murthy has spent a couple of hours meeting the director of the Infosys Science Foundation,one of his pet projects. The Foundation is a non-profit that aims to encourage scientific research by awarding a handsome Rs 50 lakh-prize to five recipients every year.

Murthy finishes that meeting and then goes over his travel plans with his trusted assistant of 17 years,the super-efficient AG Pandu. One perk of being retired is that Murthy can drive home for a quick lunch with his wife when she herself is not away on work for the Infosys Foundation.

That afternoon is spent with Strobe Talbott,former deputy secretary of state in the Clinton administration and currently the president of Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution. A long teleconference follows with the executive council of Public Health Foundation of India,a public-private initiative that aims to strengthen India’s public health system. The day ends with a review meeting with his colleagues in Catamaran and it is 8 pm by the time Murthy returns home.

The company he founded made Murthy and his co-founders rich. Infosys also set exemplary standards for corporate governance. Those values won him many honours including the Padma Vibhushan and France’s Legion d’honneur. Undoubtedly,Murthy is one of the most influential corporate leaders of post-liberalisation India.

Infosys under Murthy had many firsts. It was India’s first company to distribute equity amongst its employees. Today,35 per cent of Infosys equity amounting to $13 billion (Rs 6,234 crore) belongs to Murthy’s colleagues and employees. “Wealth never meant much to me,what I value are hard work,discipline,commitment and honesty,” he says.

Unlike India’s traditional family-owned companies,Murthy set up Infosys as an example of meritocracy. “I gave up my position much earlier than anybody else would have in my position,” he says. Founders,including Nandan Nilekani (who resigned from Infosys to chair the Unique Identification Authority of India),co-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan or SD Shibulal,the current CEO,all hold shares in their names and the names of their wives and children. Yet no relative of the founders has been employed at Infosys under Murthy’s watch.

The exit from Infosys has been graceful. “I really don’t have much to do with Infosys now,” says Murthy. He is no longer part of the Infosys board,nor does he participate in strategic or tactical issues.  His role as chairman emeritus though,comes with some privileges. His office at the Infosys headquarters stays,though Murthy has not returned there since his farewell – protégés Gopalakrishnan and Shibulal still call him up for advice.

His assistant Pandu continues to be on the rolls of Infosys and the company also takes care of Murthy’s security. He says he has the latitude of interacting with employees the world over,Infoscions as they are called,especially the younger bunch. He will continue talking to fresh recruits,advising the head of global infrastructure,visiting development centres across the globe,he says.

The Murthy family is among India’s wealthiest,their Infosys shareholding making them dollar billionaires. The couple has always led a frugal life,though he no longer routinely washes his plate after mealtimes or cleans his own toilet. In the early days,he drove himself in a Maruti Omni but prefers a chauffeur-driven Skoda these days. He still has a bucket bath daily,an eco-friendly one with no more than half-a-bucket of water. While Murthy and his wife Sudha’s lives remain unchanged,the couple attempts to change others’ lives by generously donating money to a variety of causes.

Their home is the same,a modest two-floor building that stands amongst other unpretentious houses on a quiet street in Jayanagar,the only concession is an annex built for visiting guests,and the security guards outside. “My belief is that India needs world-class public spaces and the simplest of personal lifestyles,” he says.

As a contrast to his sparse home,Infosys campuses are dotted with modern chrome-and-glass buildings,landscaped gardens and cobbled pathways reminiscent of office parks in California. “When I started Infosys,I’d seen a lot of industrialists whose homes were top quality but whose companies were quite pathetic; I was determined to do the exact opposite,” he says.

The Murthys eat simply — meals usually consist of chapattis,vegetables,dal and curd. Murthy has often been spotted catching a movie with his assistant Pandu. He says he has not watched any films in recent months,the last was the critically-acclaimed Kannada film Naanu mathu nanna kanasu (My dream and I). In keeping with his passion for Bach and Mozart,his office is fitted with speakers. Murthy doubts he will have more time to spend on watching cricket. “Every time I watch,India loses so I’ve become superstitious about that — I cannot bear to watch the match endings,” he says.

On the day of his Infosys farewell,some 7,000 poignant,personal messages flew across the company’s social network,InfyBubble. Thousands of Infosys employees got sentimental at the farewell.  But Murthy says he did not feel emotional at all.  “It was known in 1981 when we founded Infosys that I would walk off when I was 65; I prepared for this for many years,” he says.

The “home office” was set up three years ago as was Catamaran Ventures which works with Murthy and his son Rohan in managing the venture capital and public investments of the Murthy family. “It was a well-thought out,well planned exit,” he says.

The Murthys’ two children are both married and live in the United States. The older Akshata,an MBA from Stanford,lives on the West Coast. Son Rohan,recently married an heiress of TVS Motors,finished his PhD from Harvard University and is now at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Murthy is still the workaholic he was when his children were growing up. But when the couple’s first grandchild Krishna was born four months ago,the Murthys arrived to see her within days of her birth. “I’ve been pushed back another generation,and cannot anymore trick myself into thinking I’m young,” Murthy says with a laugh. He contrasts this with his own two children who were almost wholly his wife’s responsibility. “She understood that a company like Infosys demands passion,commitment and all of your time.” His wife also built their home while he travelled the world meeting customers.

In the same solemn tone he uses when he speaks about Infosys,Murthy talks of the problems and challenges ahead for India. “I’m not a person discouraged by problems; I believe that openness in accepting that there is a problem is an important step to finding a solution”. One challenge,he says,is finding a proactive leadership,which is firm,believes in values and takes quick decisions. India needs such leaders in all fields,whether in the corporate world,academics,politics,bureaucracy or civil society,he says. “With a strong leadership and hardworking,disciplined citizens,India can aspire to be in the Global Top 5 in every sphere of life,” he adds.

Murthy has a vision for his own future too. What Infosys did for middle-class India,he hopes to replicate for the country’s poor with Catamaran,the $129 million (Rs 618 crore) venture fund he set up in 2009 after selling his and wife Sudha’s part holdings in Infosys.  The only way to deal with the challenge of poverty is to create jobs and generate wealth through private entrepreneurship,says Murthy.

Catamaran will encourage small entrepreneurs in a wide spectrum of fields.  The fund has already made eight investments,the biggest of them in SKS Microfinance,Manipal Global Learning and energy drink maker Tzinga. Every business has to make money,grow and make a difference by investing more in technology,creating new products and creating more jobs,says Murthy.

The politics question

Is the man who successfully created a global corporate brand ready to roll up his sleeves and get into public life? Murthy,who has been routinely tipped for various public offices such as President of India,says with dignity that he does not hanker after any position.

“I am not seeking a position. I have no desire for a bungalow or a car… Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee invited me to join his cabinet in 1999. But I was running the Infosys marathon at the time. I told him I still had a lot of work to do and respectfully declined.

“India faces many challenges today. Foremost is whether we will be able to sustain the fruits of liberalisation that we were fortunate enough to receive in the last 20 years,whether we will be able to create a just and equitable society,whether we can leave a better India for our kids who are worried about corruption,and worried about inaction.

“I am an Indian first. Whatever has been asked of me by my country,I have discharged to the best of my ability. I am not seeking office. And anyway,one person is not sufficient to raise the confidence of 1.2 billion Indians. We need thousands of inspirational leaders in every sphere of life.

“The solution is not for a 65-year old to become a rookie in politics. The opportunities need to go to modern,energetic young people. People like me can play an advisory role. There is an opportunity to create an advisory council for the country. But who am I to wish this? I don’t have experience in public office. It is perhaps presumptuous of me to suggest this.”