NeoNiche - A Startup Story

I am a first generation entrepreneur ,and my company is called “NeoNiche Integrated Solutions Pvt. Ltd”, I have been a regular reader to  therodinhoods.com posts and would say that the blogs has been a source of inspiration to me as to numerous others.

NeoNiche was started with the single dream of bridging the gap between the marketers and the understanding of his/her hired agency ...more specific the Event Agency ....We started with the single aim to reinforce relationship between company & customers, brand & buyers, product & prospects, by creating experiences, delivered real time across multiple platforms of Social, Digital and on-ground Event experiences. While I embarked on this journey with my team we realized this was only possible if we truly cared about people who mattered to us ,Our team, Their families, our customers, society that we live in and the law of the land. That’s how we formed our mission statement where we said-
"We aspire to be the most 'Respected' , 'Caring' and 'Innovative' Experiential Marketing Company in the world, because it is our firm belief that if we pursue respect, care & innovation we will not short-change our Clients, care for our Colleagues, their families and society in general, treat our partners with respect and understanding, will never violate the law of the land in whichever Country we operate. It is our conviction that such pursuit will create an environment of trust ,harmony and excellence, pillars which will lead to constant Innovations for our Clients ."
NeoNiche journey started with a dream ,we had no money, no backing coming from middle class family in Ranchi with only salaried personnel and certainly no major contacts .
However, the journey of past year taught me few things as entrepreneur which I want to share with my fellow entrepreneurs and anyone thinking of bootstrapping.

1. It’s not WHO you know but WHAT you know and WHERE and HOW you can make a difference – The first Client who empaneled us as vendor are yet to do business with us while there are few Angel Clients who trusted us and brought us more clients by WOM.
2. Think BIG, Set hairy, audacious, BIG goals but be humble
3. A motivated team is better than 10 so called experienced experts – Motivate your team to go beyond what they are capable of. and give them the credit when they deliver
4. Be visible and be different –A paradox but both are also true vice versa …..our recognition at CMO Asia Awards and free media coverage helped us
5. Follow the law of the land and pay your taxes on time – Helps to maintain the transparency 
6. Do not hire a family member at least not when you are starting off
7. Give Value for Money service and be shameful in asking Clients for referrals
8. Believe in yourself its only then that the world will start believing you
9. Be Frugal- Its not about the flashy car but about that extra penny saved to get more resources
10. Follow the rules that exist for everyone in the team and enjoy your free time.

Our Angel & Mischief

They are just our dogs or are they our babies.
Our other eyes that can see above the clouds;
Our reasons that see above the doubts.
Our other ears that hear above the noise;
Our “Bundles of Joy” who leave us no choice.

When we are wrong, they are delighted to forgive;
They are sad, when every morning I leave.
When we fight, they clowns to make us smile;

They come back to check, even when they walk a mile.
When we are happy, there is joy unbounded;
Unexpected “treats” are greeted dumbfounded.

They have told us more than a thousand times , 

that we are their reason for being
By the way they rests against our laps,
sometime barking against the leaking taps
By the way they thumps their tails at our smallest smile,
ever ready again to run a mile.
Are they our dogs, just ready to greet.
No! they are our babies , two heartbeats near our feet.

Maverick: The success Story of the Most Unusual Workplace.

The book first published in 1988 is Brazil most successful non fiction work. Semler, the 34-year-old CEO, or “counselor,” of Semco, a Brazilian manufacturing firm, describes how he turned his successful company into a “natural business” in which employees hire and evaluate their bosses, dress however they want, participate in major decisions, and share in 22 percent of the profits. Semler believes that Semco is different from most companies that have participatory management because employees are given the power to make decisions–even ones, with which the CEO wouldn’t normally agree. Best for the non-delegating leader in you.


The Art of Start

Guy Kawasaki’s 4 year old best seller is one of the most talked and blogged about books for entrepreneurs. The book deals with some of the most prominent questions startups face. What does it take to turn ideas into action? What are the elements of a perfect pitch? How do you win the war for talent? How do you establish a brand without bucks? The former Apple evanglist and venture capitalist answers it all.


The High Performance Entrepreneur

This is my personal favorite by Mindtree Co-Founder Subroto Bagchi. The book includes how to decide when one is ready to launch an enterprise, selecting a team, defining the values and objectives of the company and writing the business plan to choosing the right investors, managing adversity and building the brand. This is specially recommended for high achievers who want to build high potential organizations.. you know the next Google kind of thing.


The Long Tail

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson speaks about how the future of business is in selling less of more. The book’s title quickly went on become the catchphrase among Internet marketers and enjoys an iconic status among new age entrepreneurs. Anderson uses its examples from Google, Rhapsody, iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and eBay to show how the growth in a world without inventory is beyond the idea of selling more of less going towards selling to individual demands and small deep niches.


IACOCCA

The autobiography of Lee Iacocca. The inspirational manager talks the story of his life that went saw the highs and lows as prominent player in the American automobile industry. The book primarily recounts the birth of the American classic Mustang and how it changed the face the industry while Lee got even with Ford. Lee Iacocca is an inspirational figure among many top managers of the world for his tenacity and skill and the grit he displayed to bring Chrysler back from the brink of bankruptcy. Must Read.

Making of an World class Organization:Narayana Murthy ,Infosys Co-Founder.

Here’s the farewell letter written by N.R. Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys to all the shareholders of the company. Here he says about Infy’s journey. It’s a must read for all followers of engineering & entrepreneurship: (Letter Credit – Infosys Annual Report 2010-2011)

Family or Company – How Tough Really It Is?

It was on one of those rare nights at home during the late eighties. I was huddling with my young children, Rohan and Akshata, when Rohan, the most mischievous child I have ever come across, asked innocently whether I loved Infosys more than him and his sister. I got away from that embarrassing situation by saying that I loved my children much more than anything else. However, even today when we reminisce about the incident my children are not fully convinced that I was telling them the truth. When I was busy overseeing every detail of the strategy and the operations of the company from designing the company logo the company song and the presentation materials signing off on every drawing and material used in every building on our campuses around the world and coming home late at night, it was difficult to argue with the innocent but correct logic of my children. When I was spending l6 hour days in the office and was away from home for as many as 330 days in a year it was hard for my children to believe in my commitment to the family.

There is no doubt that the Infosys journey has been an integral part of my life. Most of my colleagues say that Infosys is an inseparable part of me and I am an inseparable part of Infosys I have been the Number One actor in every major decision taken in the company. I have rejoiced in every significant milestone of the company I have commiserated in every false step that this company has taken. The best analogy that I can think of for this separation between Infosys and me is that of ones daughter getting married and leaving her parents’ home. Yes, the parents will be there when she needs them and they will be happy that she is starting a new life in an exciting new environment.

Key Achievements – As Noted by Him :


It is not easy for me to write my last article in the Annual Report of the company. As I write this a mosaic of images from the past whizzes through my mind. The list seems endless and it would be difficult to narrate them all in this article. So let me highlight a few of them. The day we assembled in my tiny apartment in Mumbai to decide that respect from every stakeholder was the most valuable thing for us. The day we convinced our first US customer to close his own operations at SEEPZ and hitch his future with ours was a significant milestone for us. The day we won the MICO data center contract, starting as an underdog and going on to differentiate ourselves based on our advanced mathematical modeling competence, was a day that boosted our confidence as engineers. The day we inaugurated India’s first software campus is still vivid in my memory. Distributing 27 per cent of the company’s equity among our employees was a proud moment for those of us who have always considered the idea of sharing wealth to be an important pan of our social responsibility.

Listing in India in 1993 pushed us to become leaders in corporate governance. The joy of being India’s first software company to be certified at Level 4 of the Capability Maturity Model of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon was clearly what enhanced our own belief in quality. Sitting on a high stool at the NASDAQ headquarters in New York in front of the scorching lights of TV cameras, I borrowed the words of Neil Armstrong to tell the world how important it was for an Indian company to be listed on the NASDAQ. Opening our ultra modern offices in London, Paris, New York, Melbourne, Shanghai and Tokyo heralded our aspirations to be a global company.

The inauguration of the first education centre at Mysore by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the second one by Mrs Sonia Gandhi the President of the Indian National Congress were both sound reaffirmations of our long-held belief in the importance of education and research. Participating in the Billion Dollar Day function declaring several special dividends and bonus shares, becoming part of NASDAQ-100, starting our banking group, creating Infosys Consulting and Infosys BPO, building more than 28 million sq. ft. of world-class development centers, winning several prestigious global awards and establishing the Infosys Foundation are milestones that brought us great pride.

The Sphere of Life – As It Is and It is in fact a Roller-Coaster Ride :


There have been some moments of great dilemmas and sadness too. Bidding goodbye to perhaps the brightest of my co-founder colleagues early in the journey was disheartening. Refusing to accept unreasonable terms and walking away from business with a Fortune 10 company was a test of our resolve. Accepting the resignation of a senior colleague and dealing with the instance where our code of ethics was jeopardized were tests of adherence to our values. Deliberating all alone on the resignation offer of a co-founder is not something I would wish even upon my enemy. Being accused of violating our own high standard of business ethics recently made me lose several nights of sleep.

Occasional incidents of the organization turning bureaucratic the inability of some of our leaders to take quick and firm decisions and the movement company interface becoming less business-friendly from time to time are things that make me sad. But then this tapestry of happy and not so happy incidents is normal and keeps life exciting.

What have been the lessons from this extraordinary marathon? Assembling a team of extraordinary people who have displayed outstanding capabilities through their value system competence, low ego and high energy is crucial to the progress of any institution. The differentiation comes from ideas and ideas come from bright minds. Therefore, good people are the primary assets of a great organization. It is essential to realize that even the best people may not be able to run the entire marathon.

Different people run out of endurance and intellectual horsepower at different points of time. Some people drop out of the marathon since they do not see any value in an organization when their own time under the arc light is over. A leader’s responsibility is to recognize this, provide them opportunities outside the organization, and usher in suitable replacements. Infosys’ journey is replete with many such examples.

The Essence of Leadership :

Many intelligent people possess a high ego and low patience to deal with people less capable than themselves. Leaders have to manage this anomaly very carefully; counsel these errant people from time to time, and allow them to operate as long as they do not become dysfunctional and start harming the organization. If they do cross the threshold it takes courage to inform the individuals that their time in the organization is over and that they have to leave. However, one aspect that marks out a truly superior organization is the ability of its employees at all levels to be driven by values and to ensure adherence and compliance under any circumstance. No individual is high or important enough for an organization to put up with non compliance.
Leadership by example is what creates trust in people to follow a leader. As long as a leader is able to show his or her sacrifice and commitment to a cause others will follow him or her I am glad we decided on respect from our stakeholders (customers, employees, investors, vendor, partners, government of the land and the society) as the primary objective of the company. I have seen hundreds of instances of such leadership-by-example at Infosys.

A sense of ownership among employees is extremely important to build a long term future for a corporation. Such ownership comes from fair merit based and generous sharing of wealth and perquisites among each member of the company. This is my answer to many of my friends who wonder why when Infosys was founded I took a small percentage of my earlier salary while every other cofounder’s salary was increased by at least 10 per cent. The same friends tell me that they do not know of any other instance where as much as 10 to 15 per cent of the company equity was given to co-founders who had just 12 to 18 months of work experience.

I do not know of any Indian company that has given away as much as Rs 50,000 crore (at current stock prices) of stock options to employees. Today; every Indian employee at every level who joined us on or before March 2010 is a stockholder of Infosys. The point I would like to make is that such acts demonstrate that our leaders walked the talk in sacrifice and commitment. Strategy is about ensuring sustained differentiation m a changing environment for better net income margins Differentiation without better net income margins is meaningless. In my opinion operating margins and earnings before taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are not appropriate measures. In fact the best measure of differentiation is the per capita free cash flow generated. Such cash flows bring cash to invest in better people research and development infrastructure training and better customer and employee confidence The famous Harvard historian Niall Ferguson says in his book Civilization: The West and the Rest that the six attributes that have made Western civilization dominant during the last five hundred years are competition, science, property rights, medicine, consumption and a good work ethic. I have been saying for many years now that the factors that differentiate a corporation from its competitors are an enduring value system open mindedness, pluralistic and meritocratic approach and practicing speed, imagination and excellence in execution. Leaders have to focus on creating such an environment.

Leadership is about taking bold and firm decisions with incomplete information in an environment of uncertainty: Leaders who waffle do not inspire confidence in their people. It is important to use as much data and modeling as possible to eliminate clearly bad decisions. My decision to walk away from a Fortune 10 company when they contributed 25 % of our revenue was one such example of decision making under uncertainty. It was a tough decision that was taken so firmly and calmly that the head of sales at Infosys at that time thought I was not bothered about the future of the company! I had to explain to him that I did indeed agonize over it but that as a leader I could not be driven by panic since such an important decision required a calm and composed mind.

Every leader must have a mental model of his or her business with at best five to seven parameters that determine sensitivity to revenue and net income. It is important to update that model suitably as the business landscape changes. Any leader who cannot quickly do such sensitivity calculation would not be able to take quick and bold decisions. Even today I carry and update the mental model of our business in my mind.

Generosity is an essential part of a leader. It is the foundation on which teamwork is built. The ability to share the limelight with ones colleagues, the ability to step aside and give opportunity to younger people when they want that fame, power and glory: and the ability to provide a safety net of advice for them is an important aspect of strengthening the future of an organization. It is not easy to give up power, particularly when you have been the object of so much adulation. I must say that Infosys has done a good job in bringing two such transitions before I leave the portals of this company.

What Makes an Organization Worldclass :

Scalability is the true test of the endurance of an organization. The ability to grow successfully without losing quality productivity employee investor and customer satisfaction and the spirit of a small company is what makes Infosys a great company. We have grown from 50 customers to 620 customers from 10 projects to 6,500 projects from 100 employees to 130,820 employees from 100 sq ft to 28 million sq ft of built up space and from 100 investors to over 450,000 investors. Such a scalability exercise has been successful thanks to our PSPD model of operation. PSPD stands for Predictability of revenues, Sustainability of such predictability, Profitability of such realized revenues and Derisking. Predictability happens because of a good forecasting system that derives realistic data from the trenches and tempers it with the wisdom of senior business leaders. Sustainability refers to the systems that help the efforts of sales people beating the pavement and meeting customers to make the prediction true, the efforts of our delivery people to deliver quality products on time within budgets, and to the efforts of our finance people raising the invoice on time and collecting money on time. Profitability refers to the systems that help our people make value-based sales, follow rigorous budgeting exercises, control costs, get best value for money and ensure the agreed-upon profitability. Derisking refers to systems that identify risks in various dimensions of our operations – people, geographies, technologies, application areas and services – collect periodic data, review the risk levels and mitigate them.

Innovation is the best instrument for creating sustained differentiation. However it must be accepted that revenues for a corporation come from well understood ideas and business models. For example, most of a bank’s revenues will come from borrowing money at a certain rate and lending it at a higher rate. Part of the profits from such models will be used for research and development to generate new ideas. A few of these ideas will be seeded and some of them will become mainstream revenue earners. Therefore, it is very important for a leader to focus on innovation particularly when the times are good.

Customers put food on our table. Therefore, we have to have a laser focus on exceeding their expectations, being open and honest with them, and ensuring that they look good in front of their customers. Employees are the only instruments we have to make our customers and investors succeed. Therefore, we have to create an environment of openness, meritocracy; fairness, transparency, honesty and accountability amongst our employees.

Our investors understand that businesses will have their share of up and downs. They want us, the management, to level with them at all times. Therefore, “when in doubt, please disclose” is a good policy for a corporation. Society provides customers, employees, investors, bureaucrats and politicians. Therefore, earning the goodwill of every society that we operate in is extremely important for us. Global benchmarking is a powerful instrument that helps us to improve our self-confidence, compete with the best global competitors and serve our customers better.

Success and Failure – We are our best friend and We are our Worst Enemies :

We Indians must recognize as we have done at Infosys that we are our main enemies. There is no external enemy. Our failures are because of our lack of commitment to our cause, our inability to accept meritocracy and our indifference to honesty and want of a good work ethic amongst our leaders. Performance alone is the key differentiator. This stems from my belief that performance leads to recognition brings respect and respect brings power. Therefore if India wants to be a superpower as we keep hoping the only instrument we have is performance.
We have demonstrated that businesses can be run legally and ethically that it is possible for an Indian company to benchmark with the global best and that any set of youngsters with values hard work team work and a little bit of smartness can indeed be successful entrepreneurs. This way we have enthused millions of young men and women in India. This in my opinion is Infosys’ greatest contribution.

I have realized that humility grace and courtesy are genuine only when you have power and glory. That is why the leaders at Infosys have practiced this time and again. Humility provides us the strength of mind to learn from people better than us. Grace and courtesy make us worthy competitors. They also remind us that such glory and power are ephemeral and give us the strength to handle the days when we too could lose our shine.

The crucial things we have to do in the future are to recognize our weaknesses; be open-minded about learning from people better than us; learn from our mistakes and not repeat them; be humble, honest and courteous; benchmark with the best in every dimension; use innovation to perform at global levels; and create a worthwhile vision and improve every day. This is how our mantra of focusing on speed imagination and excellence in execution will take this company very far.

I have absolutely no doubt about it. I wish Kris and my fellow Infoscions the best in their journey forward. The board has been kind enough to name me the Chairman Emeritus. Therefore, I will always be there to add value if asked.

Thanks,
Narayana Murthy

Dont let them say you can't do it

Officials rejected a candidate for a news broadcasters post since his voice was not fit for a news broadcaster.
He was also told that with his obnoxiously long name, he would never be famous.
He is Amitabh Bachchan.

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A small boy--the fifth amongst seven siblings of a poor father,
was selling newspapers in a small village to earn his living.
He was not exceptionally smart at school but was fascinated by religion and rockets.
The first rocket he built crashed.
A missile that he built crashed multiple times and he was made a butt of ridicule.
He is the person to have scripted the Space Odyssey of India single-handedly.
He is Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

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In 1962, four nervous young musicians played their first record audition for the executives of the Decca Recording Company.
The executives were not impressed.
While turning down this group of musicians, one executive said,
"We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out."
The group was called The Beatles.

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In 1944, Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency told modeling hopeful
Norma Jean Baker, "You'd better learn secretarial work or else get married".
She went on and became Marilyn Monroe.

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In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired a singer after one performance.
He told him, "You ain't goin' nowhere son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck".
He went on to become Elvis Presley.

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When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876,
it did not ring off the hook with calls from potential backers.
After making a demonstration call, President Rutherford Hayes said, "That's an amazing invention, but who would ever want to see one of them?"

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When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he tried over 2000 experiments before he got it to work.
A young reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times.
He said, "I never failed once. I invented the light bulb.
It just happened to be a 2000-step process".

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In the 1940s, another young inventor named Chester Carlson took his idea to 20 corporations, including some of the biggest in the country.
They all turned him down. In 1947, after 7 long years of rejections, he finally got a tiny company in Rochester, NY, the Haloid Company, to purchase the rights to his invention--an electrostatic paper-copying process.
Haloid became Xerox Corporation.

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A little girl--the 20th of 22 children, was born prematurely and her survival was doubtful.
When she was 4 years old, she contracted double pneumonia and scarlet fever, which left her with aparalyzed left leg.
At age 9, she removed the metal leg brace she had been dependent on and began to walk without it.
By 13 she had developed a rhythmic walk, which doctors said was a miracle.
That same year she decided to become a runner.
She entered a race and came in last.
For the next few years every race she entered, she came in last. Everyone told her to quit, but she kept on running.
One day she actually won a race.
And then another.
From then on she won every race she entered.
Eventually this little girl--Wilma Rudolph, went on to win three Olympic gold medals.

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A schoolteacher scolded a boy for not paying attention to his mathematics and for not being able to solve simple problems.
She told him that you would not become anybody in life.
The boy was Albert Einstein.

Love Story of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy…….from Sudha Murthy's Autobiography!!!

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 7o'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 was 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 and 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 at 10 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 12 noon 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 persons 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 PULLING 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.

Lost in transit

Lot has happened since I last dropped here,got married,adopted 2 canine kids,saw my life turn topsy turvy and my house a wreak as they were teething, resigned from my Job to start a new dream......But I aam back again......a new resolve , with a spring on my fingertips with old memories and new.........hoping someone will drop in .......stop for few seconds and carry on ........I am just hoping .......new dreams and old......

Just another Traffic Signal

The January chill was stinging me, biting and clawing through my cloths but I was oblivious to it… as I was of the endless irritating cavalcade of Cars, Bus, Autos, and 2 Wheelers running outside on the ever congested Bangalore road.

I was numb … I was in pain I did not knew existed for a long time, living alone for years and being the eldest of 3 siblings I had learned early in life to deal with the feeling of home sickness drowning it in the objectivity of real world where emotions are nothing but hurdles to our ever growing “middle class” ambitions….My heart was still there back at my Brother’s residence…..Which I had left around 40 minutes back and with it I had left behind my “Bundle of Joy” my niece of 2 years …..I wanted to go back …..I wanted to be with her ,play with her and wanted to hear her speak in that childish demeanor , …..But I had to go back….back to Mumbai…back to endless client meetings, those numerous presentations and back to chasing my “middle class” dreams.

Suddenly the endless honking of traffic brought me back from my thought….I woke up at the signal. We had reached Richmond Circle. The traffic usually stops there for a few minutes. It is the longest signal during the journey back from City to New Bangalore Airport.

The Cab Driver stopped the engine and started having his tobacco . I was watching him in fascination with nothing else to do, he meticulously arranged that small portion in the palm of his hand rubbed it with his index finger and with precise perfection it vanished in his mouth. He nodded with satisfaction and increased the volume of the music

With droopy eyes I looked through the window to the mêlée outside ,The view was like a clone of numerous traffic signals scattered across metros….. Looking around for something to catch my fancy I saw a little boy, a ragamuffin with his sister. The elder one was standing near the huge heap of rubbish and taking out plastic bottles from the rubbish heap.
A Pan Shop nearby had numerous posters of Film stars mostly females displayed across the façade……I lit up my own Cigarette and as if on cue my eyes wandered to the “statutory warning” sign displayed on one of the billboard on the shop. The sign was too much of a screamer ….Puff…Puff….finally with expert precision I stubbed the cigarette on the sole of my shoe and with an equally expert precision it flew out of my window on the rubbish bin whille I was thinking it was time to give up my vice.

A fruit vendor was busy selling freshly cut fruit, dicing pineapples and placing it on top of Water Melon chunks, Nearby urchins were busy begging alms from the cars around the signal……..A young couple riding a scooter with a kid in front made me remember traveling with my family in our second hand “Bajaj Super” …….

Knock….Knock….someone knocked on my Cab’s door …It was one of those urchins….I fished out a ten rupee note and gave it to him feeling a wee bit more philanthropic than normal.

I saw world in a microcosm. A world which was not in search of anything, happy in whatever was coming their way. Those urchins were not cribbing, complaining about the pollution, the noise, or anything because they were busy in hard realities of life. Tired, tattered and sun toned but happier because they found reasons to be, unlike the more affluent “middle class” who find reasons and logics for happiness. It was a state for them but for us it is a thing to decipher.

The Signal turned to green too soon and my Cab left picking up speed with each changing gear …Leaving behind the City and the mêlée outside a speck itched in the backyards of memory………to Mumbai…to endless client meetings, to chasing those “middle class” dreams…..till I could find another place another time and another “Traffic Signal”

“Happy Journey”

From the Railway Carriage

I got up with a jerk and looked out of the window of my three tier compartment and was greeted by that all too familiar cacophony of “Chai, garam chai’, ‘taaza kela’, ‘fresh bread-omlette’, ‘paper, le lo paper’, …….‘T.T. Saab just one berth, I’ll give you extra’, ‘coolie, coolie, come this way quick....” The sights, sounds and smells were all so familiar.

Peering out I asked a hawker selling peanuts, “Which station is this?”“Rourkela,” the boy answered. I had got my favorite seat - a side lower berth. I had started exactly twenty four hours ago from Mumbai. It would take me another 2 hours to reach my destination - Tatanagar. I had a good night’s sleep inspite of travelling Sleeper Class after a gap of 9 Years, to think of it after 6 years on any class in a Train.

They say, If you haven’t traveled in Indian Railways, you haven’t seen India! Yes, the Incredible India is not complete without it’s fascinating bit of the great Railways. The British built narrow guage lines to beat the heat in the plains and traveled to the cool hill stations during the British rule in India. but, my train trip was more to relieve my memories than any new experience hence I chose Train over Flight yearning for the good old days, when trains with evocative names like 'Frontier Mail', 'Flying Ranee', 'Gomoh Express', thundered through the nights trailing a mixture of steam and smoke. Trains with romantic, magical names are still there. But those steaming, thundering nights are just a speck in my memory and it was time to go back in flash back and bring back those moments.

I got up to brush my teeth and get ready for some hot tea and newspaper……. The Shouts of Chaiwallah got me into reverie 9 years back……………….When for about 5 years I was a regular traveler of Gitanjali Express between Tatanagar and Mumbai. The wonderful journeys that I undertook by this train during my college days are amongst my best journeys on board the Indian Railway, Generally a big group of friends would be there and we would begin the journey at around 6:15 AM from Dadar and reach the next morning at around 9:30 am.

I remembered my first trip from Mumbai to Jamshedpur in 1998 ,We were a group of 20 people traveling from Dadar and it was our first journey back home from Hotel Management Institute …I had a ticket in another coach away from the others and I believe I was initiated into entrepreneur spirit during that journey as I sold my ticket for an exchange of Waiting Ticket of another passenger all for Rs.400/- Making a straight profit of Rs.200/- on my concessional ticket half that price. fully aware that there were 19 other births to plonk in during the night…..To think of it a profit of 100% was not bad…….These group journeys would have college Romeo-Juliet’s, Booze party, dancing and antakshari.

Dadar station looked like a “casbah” in the Middle East. prior to the departure of Geetanjali Express, 20 times more crowded and just as chaotic. Passengers running after coolies, who would be trying to locate particular carriages; vendors trotting up and down the platform trying to sell their wares, mineral water, fruits, newspapers and periodicals. Adding to this melee were the inevitable bhajiawallas .

The real fun of travelling use to begin as soon as we would board. Our role changed from that of a spectator to a participant. Indian middle class are not content to mutter a comment about the lateness of the train and then immerse themselves in the crossword. They are far too social for that. As the train gathers speed, so does the banter. It was difficult to believe that your fellow passengers are meeting each other for the first time. Not only is gossip exchanged, but also food and life stories. As everyone is expected to join in, you might as well do the same. Your fellow travelers are not averse to asking you direct and leading questions even if you put on the reserve. This is not nosiness but friendliness. However, I can visualize a few raised eyebrows, when somebody you have only just met, asks you what your take-home pay is!
You should be prepared to field questions about cricket. If you have no knowledge of cricket, the easiest way to get out of this predicament is to start talking about Indian politics. Start the ball rolling and then sit back. Indian politics is so complex a subject that it is easier to understand Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

..... Having chai was an experience not to be missed. The Chaiwallah were an institution in themselves, unlikely to be seen anywhere. Their strident cries of "Chai, garam chai" (tea, hot tea), would penetrate even well insulated air-conditioned carriages. Even at 2 o'clock in the morning, they would parade up and down with undiminished spirit. Passengers themselves didn’t think anything of getting up from deep slumber to partake of this nectar. The typical way of making it was to boil the living daylights out of a mixture of water, milk, sugar and tea leaves, and when no more tannin can possibly be extracted, strain it off into small cups or glasses. On smaller stations, they used small disposable earthenware pots or “Kullhars”. After you finish, you throw the pot, usually between the platform and the train, where it disintegrates into smithereens. Dust to dust Ashes to ashes. I remembered The old “chaiwallah’’ with his famous negative marketing pitch “kharab se kharab chai pijiye’’ who was a regular between Tatanagar & Rourkela stations and gave the passengers the best Tea that was possible, However, the days of this most Indian of drinks may be numbered. On this trip, I was served a lukewarm mixture of considerably watered down milk with a miserable looking tea bag floating in it in a plastic cup. I suppose that is progress!

Another feature of this journey use to be the undulating tunnels & rivers in the same leg of the journey...a must watch for the nature lovers...and we used to sit at the door for the best views……..Little children in the train, defying parental commands to go to sleep, would peer out of the windows at the engine at some bend……. The Train window use to be like a celluloid Screen where you could see glimpses of real village life, Farmers on their way to rice fields, Goatherds on their way to grazing oasis, rice farming on narrow paddy fields and all these while the Train would chug along faster and faster over Bridges, crossing Villages, Rivers, Forests charging along like an army through the meadows and sights of the hill and the plains, The painted stations would disappear in the wink of an eye, Each a glimpse gone forever or at most itched in memories ,Time would fly and before long we would be at Jamshedpur clamoring down to go home for vacation before it was time to return and take the journey the other way.....homesick.

A sudden jolt woke me up from my reverie ,I could see the horizon loomed large on the other side of the window ,Chakradharpur had come It was time to collect my luggage and my memories scattered across iron tracks spread over these 1000 KM……I started to get ready before I got lost once again to the sound of “Chai Garam Chai”……

A Pendrive full of Memories

I look through my Flight’s Window to the panorama below restless as I have nothing better to do, a rarity nowadays, before I land in Bangalore and resume my life as I am use to and prepare for my meeting .The Sky is clear from the top and I can see clouds which are not visible from Mumbai Skyline due to ever clinging Smog…….I get this feeling of Déjà vu and go back in time, I begin to count the number of times that I've sat back like this and reflected upon my childhood a childhood fastooned with memories of my formative years and the beginning of day while preparing for exams. The day use to start with early dawn rendition of “Hey Bajrangbali Hanuman, Hey Mahavir karo kalyan” in deep baritone of Shree Hariom Saran piercing the morning air from a Temple near our house and then the day had a flurry of songs being played repeatedly by a next door neighbour right from “Yehi kahin jiyara hamar aye gori gum ho gawa re” to “Tamma Tamma” at that time me and my Brothers use to curse it and use to be terribly irritated of the same but the same songs bring back nostalgic feelings whenever I hear it now

Our childhood belonged to the Prereform years of India, It was a time when great changes were about to take place and consumption and instant gratification were not yet the way of life for Indian middle class.

It was a time where vacations would mean time to have pure and simple fun and not a time to enhance your skills by joining all possible vacation courses ,Where Doordarshan's Sunday morning Cartoons and evening Movies used to be a special event and the entire week we use to look forward to the Sundays to watch our favourite serials on Black & White TV.

It was a time where birthday's would mean friends & family get together at your place with homemade food and not just a birthday treat in a flashy Restaurant or Bar. Cold drinks were once in a while thing and drinking it used to be an event. Something to be enjoyed and to feel good about and not just a mean to quench your thirst.

We were used to playing Hide n Seek, Flying Kites, Plucking Guavas , Cycle Race and Cricket matches and were not hooked to any Mobile Phones, Play Stations or X-Boxes .It was a time of Blackboards and not white boards, fans and not A/Cs, Inter school Sports meet, Annual Functions, Rainy day off, group photographs, selling “Helpage India” tickets for school. SUPW (Art & Craft) class, School Orchestra, Bunking Library class

Our childhood was about picking up pups from the street, making a shelter for them out of bricks and requesting our parents to let them stay,
It was a time when we use to get Videos on rent and watched movies entire night on VCR. It was a time on innocence where we use to have friends and not girlfriends

It was a time when traveling by “Sleeper Cass” on train was of great joy and Aeroplane was something that we only saw flying across the clear sky, There was no internet and Personal Computers had Boot Floppy Discs, no home loans, no EMIs ,No Telemarketers, I remember Bajaj & LML Vespa Scooters that we had in an era where less was more and new cloths were a by-annual affair bought during Holi & Durga Puja ,during one of these festivals invariably one occasion purchase use to be our School Uniform.

We now live in time of rampant commercialization ,things are changing every second, We don’t write letters anymore but SMS our friends and family, Harry Porter has occupied the place once enjoyed by Enid Blyton’s. Truly lot has changed, lot will change for better and for worse but memories remains and come flashing back in time like these when we bring it out from the labyrinth of past for spring cleaning and safekeeping for another time, another day, another flight like this one.

Happy Landing!