Former board director of Infosys dismisses rumours of IT firms moving out to other cities
It is strange to see the word ‘guest’ written on the badge pinned on to the pocket of TV Mohandas Pai’s shirt.
After all, till a few months back, he was an employee with Infosys. In fact, he was not just any employee of the company. For a long time, he was the face of it.
The big man — he is 6-feet plus — still maintains a great sense of humour.
“Thank god for you people (media), they are allowing me to have lunch here. Otherwise, I won’t have been served one,” says he looking at the chef, who smiles sheepishly. “I have to feed the beast inside me.”
If you think that post Infosys, the man would have put a brake on his hectic lifestyle, you are mistaken. Life has been on an acceleration mode for Pai ever since.
“I’ve never been busier. When I was with the company, I knew I’d to work for it and make it the best. However, now I’ve multiple things on my platter. I’m associated with a number of institutes and government panels,” he sayd.
Does he get enough time to spend with his family? “No, I am unable to give them enough time, especially my wife. Most of the days, I’ve to travel for some work or the other. I’m the chairman of Manipal University, so I travel for that. I’m part of many government committees, so again I’ve to travel for something or the other. Yeah, life has been busy,” he says in a matter-of-fact way.
During the course of conversation, he touches upon various topics. It is indeed difficult to make him stick to one topic for long. The voracious speaker believes that there is not much truth in talks of IT companies shifting out of Bangalore.
“I’ve been to many cities in India. If anybody tells you that they have a better infrastructure, ask them to take a walk,” he says.
Chennai is bad and even Hyderabad is nothing great. “Believe me, Chennai is terrible. Apart from Delhi, there is no city which can be credited for having great infrastructure,” he says.
“We can’t handle prosperity. That is the basic problem in India. We’re used to handling shortages and rationing. Today, people are buying houses and cars. We don’t have system designed for that. There is a huge backlog. But the government is not responding as they have neither the money nor the capability. The government’s model is based on poverty. They are used to working at a slow pace,” he said.
He criticises parties who ask for fuel price roll back, saying economics should not be mixed with politics.
“From where will the money come? You can’t please the masses all the time. Anyway, for the past 60 years, what have they done for the masses? The poor have remained poor,” he says adding that “The government should try not to levy extra tax when fuel prices go up.”
One may think that his criticism of many government policies has landed him in the bad books of the government.
“They are very open to honest criticism. I don’t criticise it for the heck of it. What personal motive do I have,” he asks.
So does he miss the media?
“Oh yes, I certainly do. But I’ve been interacting with them at some point or the other. I’m writing a lot these days. I have a blog, but it seems no one reads it. Thankfully, people in Infosys still remember me and say they miss me,” says he.
At this point, he gets back to ‘feeding the beast’ inside him.
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