Money is just a means

Readers of Outlook Money are financially articulate and great handlers of money. At the turn of the century, when we spoke to then Infosys CEO and one of the founders, Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy (NRN) about how he managed his household expenses, his answer left us pretty much dumbfounded. Along with his wife Sudha in the interview, the couple, who were then estimated to be worth Rs 3,951 crore, maintained their monthly household expenses at just Rs 7,000. Even 17 years ago this figure would have appeared conservative. But, you need to understand the Murthy’s upbringing to realise how they managed to live within their means so easily.

When Sudha was a teenager, she defied local traditions and became the first girl to study engineering at her college. In 1974, she was the first woman engineer to work on the shop floor at Telco. NRN chose to return to India after a three year stint at the Sesa (Societe D’etudes des Sustems d’Automation) in Paris. He left his job which paid him $1500 a month to come back home, where he had no job waiting for him. From these anecdotes of their lives, it is clear that the Murthys are unconventional rebels.

Sudha went through college with a monthly allowance of Rs 2, even for which she was required to give her father accounts. In the year 2000, when she had given this interview to us she had said, “Neither of my children, Rohan and Akshata, get any pocket money. They can come to me anytime they need money and will have to tell me how they spend it.” The Murthy’s had reckoned this thrift as a way of life that has afforded them the most independence, as it allowed them to choose challenge over security each time.

Pooling in both their savings and taking a home loan, the Murthy’s secured a roof over their heads after the birth of their first child. Gaining confidence from this, Sudha now could support NRN as he chased his dreams. And she did more than just concur. Putting together what was left in their savings, she gave him Rs 1 lakh. Says Narayana: “I was conducting an experiment to create wealth. I did not know if I would succeed at all…I picked people I was comfortable with in terms of value; the rest was simple.”

During these times, the purse strings at the Murthy household had to be drawn tight. In effect, Sudha was supporting two families—her own and her husband’s in Mysore. This was a time that drew heavily upon her managerial skills, a trait that Murthy rates as among her best. She would draw up an annual family budget, even when they were a double income family, so expenses were categorized as essential, unexpected and non-recurring. Thus she always had the idea of what was necessary and what was not—vital when she had to juggle demands on the salary of one.

The Murthy family has played a pivotal role in shaping the face of the India as we see it today. One of the many lessons that one can learn from the Murthy’s is that—success demands a share of sacrifice. A tenet that is dear to the Murthy’s is that: If we aim for public good, it will lead to private good.

Extracted from September 2000 edition of Intelligent Investor, now Outlook Money

olmdesk@outlookindia.com