business honchos who live a simple life

A hack remembers how, on a hot sunny day, while he was about to step into his AC Esteem cab at the airport, Infosys head Narayan Murthy briskly hailed a non-AC ambassador taxi and vroomed off! Tales are galore about how Premji drives a Toyota Corolla, flies economy, and stays in company guest houses rather than luxury hotels.







Astounded that Narayan Murthy cleaning his toilet should be the basis of a story, Anu Aga, titled one of the world's richest women by Forbes, till she stepped down as chairperson of Thermax, exclaims, "In India, Murthy's example stands out because there's a lack of dignity of labour. If airs stop a wealthy person from hailing a taxi when the need arises, then his wealth is putting golden chains around him."







It's interesting to watch these modern-day maharajas live with a lower sense of entitlement. Capt Gopinath, MD, Deccan 360, explains, "You simply cannot create wealth islands which are not all-inclusive. A true leader combines intelligence with an aura of personality, tenacity with sensitivity, survival and defensive instincts."







Agha comments, "Those who believe in the trusteeship model realise the wealth they generate is not just for them. They are accountable to the company and shareholders."

Nandan Nilekani 30 Aug 2009, 1523 hrs IST

A colleague of Rohini Nilekani from her NGO days recollects how a young Rohini used to be dropped at work in a Maruti car, which would then pick up Nandan from Infosys. Several years later, at a social gathering, it was Rohini who called out to him and asked him over for lunch. "I was surprised by the simplicity of their aesthetically beautiful house, the simple yet delicious Saraswat meal they served and the mundane talk with Nandan. All this, when he was heading Infosys! It was such a humbling experience." But cynics pooh-pooh this kind of simplicity as too good to be true. So, when newspaper baron Aroop Sarkar drives around in a Santro car or when Kishore Biyani of the Future Group bundles blue-collared executives into a bus and takes them 'location hunting' the question lurks whether simplicity is a well-cultivated tool to set role models.   Kishore Biyani 30 Aug 2009, 1521 hrs IST   Ashni Biyani, 23, who frequently joins dad Kishore on market surveys, including dirty lanes and dusty alleys, says, "People need role models who are hands-on, who check their egos at the door, and ensure it's about the company and not them." Today, ostentation is the mantra to the next billion-dollar deal, a hangar of private jets announces you've arrived and 27-storey skyscrapers are birthday presents. Anant G Nadkarni of Tata Council for Community Initiative says, "For Tata and Murthy, their influence comes as much from iconoclastic personalities as from sheer wealth." As Dr S Sudershan, psychiatrist, Rockland Hospital says, "Brazen grandiosity, especially in India where 40 per cent live below the poverty line, is insensitive. The humble CEOs realise, that in the end, a man needs only six feet of land."