India Today Conclave 2024: Sudha & Narayana Murthy Exclusive |Fascinating Journey of Infosys Couple

hello and welcome ladies and gentlemen to the India Today conclave once again where we are very privileged to be joined by a couple who I am going to describe today as in many ways Jodi number one he is an iconic figure for India's startup industry and the infotech ecosystem that has exploded over the last couple of decades she is an award-winning best-selling author and philanthropist who who's now just become a nominated rajas saaba mp uh and their power doesn't just extend to this country but if you want to enter 10 Downing Street they might well tell you how to get there so in many ways they've proven The World is Flat that you can move from bangaluru to 10 Downing Street without a problem but what makes them truly ladies and gentlemen Jo number one is their love for each other an uncommon love that has sustained for 50 years and counting and to my mind therefore they represent some of the best values of India ladies and gentlemen Naran morti and suda morti join us here at the India today conclave thank you both very much I want to start though I'm going to ask my producer to just SL play a little video because because you've just a couple of days ago ma'am been sworn in as a member of the rajas SAA there you are getting sworn in and I think that is another feather in your cap sudam morti G what was it like to now in your latest Innings that you've decided to play as a rajas SAA MP ma'am hello can you hear me yeah this is a new chapter to me at the age of 73 I supp it's a new lessons but for learning age no bar so let me so age no bar Mr miti are you happy to now remain in the shadows of your wife well absolutely but uh because right from day one uh it was very clear that she was so much Superior to me because you know as an engineer I use data I never got the first rank never but she always got the first rank in 10 semesters of her engineering and at Institute of science Bangalore she had got a scholarship to the best technology University in the world to do her PhD uh she was the first woman to go to Telco all of that so therefore I had no doubt in my mind that she was truly the better half you you're acknowledging that today after all these years because the truth is Mr morti when you had the opportunity you did not make her part of the infosis startup team do you regret that today that you didn't take your wife as part of the startup team even though as you say she was eminently qualified to be part of it well uh life is all about learning and improving those days I was uh an incorrigible idealist those days the standard was family run organizations husband and wife Father and Son father and daughter Etc so therefore I said having returned from France I said I want to do something different in India and therefore I thought one way of doing it is not to make it a husband and wife company even though she was much more qualified than all the founders let there be no doubt about it so it was a an act of idealism it was an act of idealism have you forgiven him for it sudaji after all these years that he didn't make you part because in your book which has come out you do mention somewhere that you felt a little hurt yeah of course because uh I lowed engineering and couple of years it had hurt me maybe two to three years I felt it I wish I could have been but when I look back in life now good I did not become part because I have retired as a director of technical director of infosis probably but I I I touched many lives in real life through infosis foundation and I value it much more than any other position so I feel helping others being compassionate to others is more important than any position probably God closed one window for me but he opened many doors I consider that way you I'm going to play some photographs and we're going to start with the early' 70s when over books the two of you fell in love with each other and that's your marriage day that's our marriage and within 800 rupees we got married in 800 rupees 400 each and you thought that he would look like Rajesh kanana no that was very clear I knew him okay I thought so when I before meeting him after meeting him I said no Raj Raj because when you first it was love over books Mr morti you you wooed your wife with your uh with the fact that she was a bibliophile and that is what seemed to attract you but you any any memories of this special day well I think she walked into the my room I was sharing a room with a family in Pune de jamana she walked in she was so of enthusiasm she was very talkative lot of confidence all of that and uh I knew that the only hope I had of uh uh impressing her was my impressive area of books and I had some very unusual authors George mes who is a Hungarian English ComEd and know humor writer and George mes George yeah mes and she was uh very much impressed by George M not So Much by me and that was good enough for me so the way to a woman's heart is sometimes through books to the point where Mr morti you once took of course once love Blossom 11h hour train journey traveling ticket list because by then you were missing your wife yeah uh so you not at my wife she was not yet your wife that's right so it's okay to fall in love spend time wooing a a woman and not necessarily have a 70-hour work day right work week right nothing wrong because a lot of young younger India Today believes the moment you said you must mandatorily have 70h hour work lives they said what is Naran morti talking about what about work life balance well you know coming back to those wonderful days I had just returned from France I was somewhat Bohemian and uh I had no worries in the world I had joined a think tank NGO I took half the salary they offered uh and uh the day I met her I wanted to meet her more often we would go to a restaurant not restaurant a fruit juice shop called D what is that d d in Pune and I would go she would order a queen siiz orange juice and I would order a Kings siiz banana juice juice banana milkshake and we would be sitting and of course uh once in a while I would say ab and all of that you know CH and all of that and one day one of the bandus when the servers the waiters were called bandus he came and said you know I know you say a lot of true thing but this one is not true you have been sitting here for 4 hours would you please wait it you know so it was so so did you all grow up sudam morti I mean in these years of falling in love with each other did you uh a more innocent age the 1970s holding hands in a cinema theater was seen as the maximum in public display of affection was that how it was a more innocent age wasn't it yeah because the we never had a infosis we never thought of any anything more than being happy going around in a nice city like Pune but my life drastically changed when morti started in forces it was no longer that Happy Days in Pune it was a responsibility uh commitment you know uh and building a company is not a joke it requires lot of sacrifices from the family support from the family and lot of uh give then take so the whole life changed once it came to enforces you know but love blossoms and this entrepreneurial Journey grows almost simultaneously and there is this wonderful incredible story Mrs morti uh that you talk about or we all now know about how you gave 10,000 rupees from your account that's all you had in your savings account and you gave it to your husband to start off his entrepreneurial Journey it is perhaps the most Val valuable 10,000 that anyone has given their husband I mean what prompted you you had faith in this man this Bohemian man that you had fallen in love with MH well uh there are two things number one when I got married my mother told me you know we both come from a middle class family we are not from Rich family we all come from saled families so my mother told me without spend money with great care and save some money without husband's knowledge and this money should not be used for Jewels or the saries only in emergency you should use it so I saved every month some money and it was in a box I did not even calculate count when morti said I want to start a software company in 1981 uh I told we have good jobs both of us had very good jobs we had our own daughter akata by that time and I said why do you want to start Muti knew that I'm very fond of History so he wants to prove that historically then I will agree he said when there was Industrial Revolution we were the colonies of other country and British country Britain and we could not Prosper because industrialization took place there we only became the raw material suppliers now the second reevolution ution has come now that is software Revolution so if we miss this boat we will never become legally ethically rich and this is the only way Indians middle class people with good educational background can do something so he said if you help me out I will start a company I said I don't have too much money because uh you're salaried people with a lot of responsibility he said if you don't agree then I cannot start I want you should wholeheartedly accept this then only I would like to jump into this I thought or it it was a Wednesday evening Thursday morning I counted it was 10,250 I'm not good in economics you know I'm good in engineering but not in economics the only investment I have made in life is 10,000 rupees that's all well it's the best investment you ever made I told morti look here it's 10,000 250 again kept inside because you I never know this man will be successful or not because he had before that he had his own company softronics he was not successful so I took a little bit of risk and I said take this money I assumed I will write off he may not be or he may be if he is well and good if he's not it's also well and good then he told me okay be ready for the bump ride for the next 3 years okay I I myself will be very busy and with this money I will start that's how I gave 10,000 rupees it's as I said one of the most valuable 10,000 rupees that anyone any wife has given her husband I'm going to ask my producer to put up another couple of pictures because uh Family Life Begins and I don't know about the holidays that you all spent where is this Mr morti did you take your wife on uh this is the first foreign holiday that you all ever did you all went overseas where was this yes I think uh no no morti 1990 19799 went to America first time on work this is in Greece in the year 1996 yeah we we took akata a whole of what us went I was very keen I'm very fond of History so I told we should go to Greece it's in Greece because you have a reputation that you are you don't like You' like to travel there were all these rumors about how you prefer to even travel economy not business class is that true well uh till we reached a billion dollars of Revenue and about $280 million of net income that is after uh tax profit uh we had said we are going to travel economy International domestic doesn't matter however at that time some of the younger people came to me and said look we have made so much of sacrifice all of this why don't you be a little bit more relaxed and that's why we shifted to business CLA but till then the independent directors were given first class so independent directors Trav first while you traveled economy absolutely absolutely anyway so that's when we shifted to business class we used to stay in very seedy hotels in uh New York in New York even in Delhi here near the Old Railway Station there used to be a hotel called NRA when when I came to get the license and all I mean we we were quite happy I think at the end of the day what is more important than is your mental happiness rather than physical comfort you know that is uh because you all uh for a while stayed in a small one bhk oh AB uh when you first got married with a common toilet of course that's where it all started yeah yeah uh then of course empasis takes over your lives and uh there is a poyant moment in your uncommon love book where you uh miss your son's birthday rohan's birthday and he ask you who Do You Love More infosis on me and akata well when I told them that I did love the my my daughter and son they didn't believe me it was very clear they just smiled and went away I I I'll play what Rohan said we've got something that Rohan has to say to you all and and listening to what your son had to say who's now at the moment in London okay I'm going to ask them to uh increase the volume okay we'll try and get that audio of uh of ran morti in a moment uh but is that the sacrifice that you've had to make in a way that your children missed out because you were on your entrepreneurial Journey you know I'll tell you my when I returned from France I must be one of the very few people who left a Western Country and came back to India I had a very aspirational uh uh Target I said I want to conduct the first experiment in India on democratization of wealth I want to create a company of the professional for the professional and by the professional as aink can defined US democracy I want to demonstrate in India that even people who have no connections to go The Government Can succeed I want to create a company that will compete itself with the best in the world so these were all very aspirational Noble uh you know objectives when you have such a thing there is no sacrifice because you are all the time focused on that Target so we never felt anything you never felt let's hear what Rohan had to say I was there why should feel I'm proud of in terms of my identity I in I it's come from trying to emulate him and this is far before there's any success in his life I mean a very important role model I I don't want to make it sound like my father is the best and so on but in my limited sort of Life uh um all things that I consider very important part of my identity come from my father um and my mother of course uh but I think I'm more influenced by my father you know uh but suda Mor G it's not just ran now now you've got akata we have some lovely family photographs of holidays that you all took together uh and now she's out there uh as the wife of the British prime minister is it true that you told the immigration authorities uh when you had to uh when they asked you in London when you arrived where are you going to go and stay and you really told them 10 Downing Street yeah because that is the official address and uh my son also stays in London I won't remember these quotes you know N5 H7 o uh the British code I won't remember that so I was wondering with my sister with me which which address we should write whether it is rohan's address or her address so when we debating say okay 10 Dow Street or something and you put 10 Downing Street yeah no at the end I and what did the Immigration officer say no better is to put my son's address you know because then lot more questions will not be asked you know so they felt very funny actually IM me and sister arguing which address we should put it 10 Downing Street or 11 Downing Street or what is that they but you know these are lovely pictures I want to ask you what is your message to young couples both you know the couples may be fierce professionals but also want to you know have a strong conducive Family Life how do you do that how do you achieve the love work life balance okay when you are married you are bound to fight number one accept that if they say we have never fought then you are not husband and wife okay number two when you fight one person is upset second should be cool should not open their mouth when morti is Angry I will never talk I said let him pour out what he wants to okay I'll keep quiet when I'm angry he keeps quiet but in real life I keep quiet most of the time okay you should never get upset together because that is the recipe for further fights third thing is the life is give and take you know it no there no perfect life there's no perfect couple some plus some finus he comes along with that plus and minus I come with my own plus and minus please understand number four I want all men of this generation should help their wife in the kitchen it's very important only wife should help she should be a software engineer come back cook she should attend PTA meeting no you have to share the burden of your wife then only the family can because you stay in a city and you are young both of you have aspirations but you have to share your difficulties and all men normally talk oh my mother was a great cook because she was not working then she will cook whole day your wife is working then you expect she should be like your mother it is not possible so please understand your wife is always dear to you can I can I ask both of you in conclusion what's the biggest regret and what's the one proud moment you most cherish you start first Mr morti what's your biggest regret after all these years of marriage and love and setting up infosis your biggest regret and your proudest moment well I I don't know if I have any regrets because right from day one we operated in phasis as an enlightened democracy there was certain highly daring things that we didn't do we could have done them if we were not a we didn't operate like a true democracy so to some extent maybe our growth was somewhat less than what we could have achieve it's not a regret but that's one and your proudest moment proudest is really when I sat in front of those scorching uh lights on the on a high stool in in NASDAQ uh when we became the first Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ I think that was in in some sense we were doing something that had not been done and know in many senses we that had not been done at all from by an Indian company that suda morti you're one big regret and your proudest moment regret is I never learned swimming I feel bad about it because I come from a area where drinking water was so difficult to get forget swimming I always feel when I look at swimming pool I see so much water is there we can use it it never comes to me that I can jump into that it never comes to me and your proudest moment um when I helped D dasis 3,000 of them who were sex workers converted them and rehabilitated them to normal life that are the proud of I that day that day my wish list became empty that day I said okay now I can converse with God saying that I served your children very well I don't have any desire in my life no desire I I know that you love books and we're going to have a book signing with them for those who would like to have the uncommon love sign but you're also a movie buff you used to watch what lots of movie 20 movies a month so should we end with a nice duet from the 1970s we are all I mean I like to see myself as a child of the 7s when music was quite brilliant is there a favorite song that you want to tell us a love song that typifies love oh there are many are there 50 anything that if today you had to sing to sorry no I can't sing is there a beautiful songs see she sings it then you have to respond no huh already I thought I already yeah sorry you know that you know you know that that in a way typifies their relationship because it is what how many years in counting now I know me Muti 50 years we are married for 46 years okay so you're about to you're about to reach a half century but you knew each other 50 years ago for the the first time you're celebrating your half century and it's been a remarkable Journey from uh those days when you had your banana milkshake and your orange juice to today uh being on NASDAQ and being a rajas SAA MP ladies and gentlemen the one and only sudam morti and Narayan morti truly inspirational and truly people who represent the best values of India today thank you Raj your your father of a well-known cricketer so it's a good partnership in cricket I suppose half a century at least we have scored when when you have a Cricket partnership you're supposed to score a full Century so may you score a full ladies and Gentlemen please put your hands together for the mortis and may I please request them to honor us and launch the India Today coffee table book I'd like to invite on stage Mr sudhakar ra director IC FIA to join the mutis for the launch of India today's coffee table book it's the best of India a collection a celebration of the very many things our country has got right in its independent existence and the many famous Indians who've made our lives happier healthier more prosperous and just plain better along the way from our culture to agriculture dance to Bollywood Blockbusters victories on the battlefield to the Olympic Podium and much more the best of India ladies and Gentlemen please raise a warm Applause [Music] right after this book launch the mortis will be launching their own book and signing their own book right outside an uncommon love there are copies that are available for sale in the pre function area you can meet them there may I please call upon stage rushali maler motwani jja Foundation to come up on stage and present a small token of our appreciation right after this quick photo opportunity ma'am just 10 [Music] seconds once again ladies and gentlemen the mores put your hands together may I please call upon rali maler mwani jja Foundation to come up and present a small token of our appreciation this session was sponsored by mwani jadeja [Music] Foundation

Channel: India Today Conclave

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Id: uQcUzIeBgBQ

Length: 28min 22sec (1702 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 15 2024