The journey...

This week I post another wonderful story… I love such tales coz you always enjoy reading one, you can easily remember it and you get to see things in a fresh perspective… It is a bit dull in the start but has a superb ending… Last week we had a debate in the class, “Are leaders made or born” and one of my classmates “Rahat” took N.R. Murthy’s name and tried to use it as an example... I have borrowed this account from the book “The old man and his god” written by Sudha Murthy. (It’s a must read) It describes an experience which transformed Murthy s life. We all crib about the system but only a few like Murthy are able to make a difference and bring about a positive change… Infosys today is an organization that is run on principles that are beyond material gains. It is the best of employers in the I.T industry and has given tremendous returns to its customer and shareholders. My take on this story; in order to be a leader like Murthy you need have conviction, vision and most importantly passion…
Way back in 1974, before Infosys was even a gleam in our eyes, young Narayan Murthy was working as a team member in SESA, a French firm which was building software for handling air cargo at the then newly built Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. He was very shy and an idealist.
His views tended to be leftist and he was an ardent believer in the principles of Marxism. After working in France for a few years, he wanted to come back to India. But unlike to other young Indian engineers, he decided to hitchhike his way back from Paris to Kabul. Carrying his backpack, he took rides in cars and trains, or simply walked when nothing was available. Little did he know when he set out, that backpack journey would change his destiny, as well as affect many other lives!
One wintry Sunday morning, hitchhiking form an Italian town, he reached a border town. Once inside the communist block, Murthy realized it was not going to be a easy to get rides from passing motorists, so he decided to take a train to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Thus, he straightaway walked to the local railway station. His efforts of buying breakfast were not successful since he was carrying Italian currency. Murthy slept off on the platform till eight p.m., when the Sofia Express arrived. Murthy got on to the train and took his seat. To his delight, the compartment was nearly empty. Being an introvert, he was quite happy to be alone.
As he sat reading a book, a tall, blonde and beautiful girl entered the compartment and settled down in the adjacent seat. Murthy remained buried in his book and did not even bother to exchange a smile. Usually women, anywhere around the world, are talkative, and the girl broke the ice and struck up a conversation with him. When she got to know that he was from India, which then was much in naturally veered towards their countries’ various policies. Slowly, they began talking about their personal lives as well the girl explained her situation.
‘I am from Sofia. I was sent on a scholarship by the government to Kiev University to do my PhD. There I men a nice young man from East Berlin. We liked each other and decided to get married.’ Saying this much she sighed.
‘What was the matter? Why did you not get married? Murthy asked sympathetically.
’We did get married and that was the problem. We applied from permission to marry a citizen of another county to our respective governments. They agreed, except that Bulgaria wanted me to complete the term of my bond in my country and my husband was asked to stay back in East Germany for the same period.
The result is I travel to East Germany once in six months while my husband comes to Sofia once in six months. This has become extremely frustrating for both of us. We have lost all hopes of leading a normal married life,’ she said.
Murthy was touched by this predicament. He said ‘It’s an unfair system. Whether it is a communist or a capitalist country, issues like the choice of partner for marriage, or job, and the freedom of expression should not be curtailed…’
All this time, a boy was sitting next to the girl and listening to their conversation. He stepped out of the train and came back with two fierce looking gentlemen, one of whom caught Murthy by his collar and dragged him to the platform. The other person took the girl away.
Murthy was locked up in a small, dingy room with hardly any ventilation. He sat down on the floor in a daze. What had happened? Why was he locked up like a criminal? What had happened to the girl? Gradually he figured it was the discussion on rights and duties of citizens in a communist country that had upset the boy and the cops.
Hours passed by, he was not aware whether it was day or night. After what seemed like an eternity, the door on a train along with a guard and told that his passport would be returned only after he reached Istanbul.
‘What was my offence?’ Murthy asked the policeman, holding the door of the compartment.
The stone-faced sergeant said, “Why did you talk against the State? Who was the girl?”
‘She was just a traveler like me…”
‘Then why did she discuss her personal matters with you?’ another sergeant immediately raised his voice, not even allowing Murthy to finish his sentence.
What is wrong in that?’ Murthy protested
“It is against the rules of our country to discuss such issues”. The sergeant replied firmly.
Murthy was curious about the girl’s fate, ‘What happened to her?’
“It is none of your business. We have checked your passport. It shows that you are from India which is a friendly country that is why we are releasing you. Just leave your country without any further mischief.”
The train started moving.
Murthy was tired. He had not eaten or slept in four days. He managed to sit down at a window seat. He was again on a train but things had changed dramatically. Murthy had enjoyed discussing and arguing passionately about the ideals of Karl Marx, Lenin, Mao and Ho Chi Minh sitting at the beautiful roadside Cafes of Paris. They were theoretical discussions done on full stomach. But now, hungry and overwrought after his brush with the communist state, Murthy had to rethink all his ideals. So this was what it was like to live behind the Iron Curtain! The system dealt with ruthless efficiency even a single voice raised against it. It denied basic freedom to its citizens and treated travelers from friendly counties thus. He shuddered to think what might have happened to his if he were from a capitalist country. Watching the countryside go by, Murthy realized the value of freedom. He also realized that the only \way to get rid of poverty was not by raising slogans or issuing diktats, but by creating more and more jobs. He vowed then and there to himself that he would generate wealth not only for himself but for many others, legally and ethically. He would see that India was known through the would not for her poverty but for the skills of her young people that would be his contribution toward removing India’s problems.
Armed with this new resolve, after returning to India he experimented with various jobs at different companies. He started his own small company Softronics for a while and went on to head the software division at Patni Computer Systems. But his greatest desire was to build an export-focused company, with his values.
Finally, in 1981 he started Infosys.
The communist Murthy, over a period of time, changed to what he refers to now as a socialist capitalist.
The rest is history.