As the mascot of the new, emerging, rising, shining, strident, resurgent, pumped-up India id est Bharat, Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy wears the tricolour on his cuff links. So, you would think that his hairs would stand on end hearing the National Anthem being sung on his campuses.
Well, think again.
The President (the real one) was in Mysore on Sunday. But what greeted A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was not the mellifluous rendition of Rabindranath Tagore‘s poem by human beings, but—in the grand tradition of call centres that India’s IT “revolution” somewhat exemplifies—a prerecorded electronic version that sounded more like a cheap non-polyphonic cellphone ringtone.
Reason? Hear it from the host of the show.
Yes, you read that right.
The foreigners should not be embarrassed while we sing our national anthem.
Infosys said last year it had some 1,800 foreigners on its rolls. But there are no precise figures on how many foreigners were at the Infosys Leadership Institute aka the Mysore campus, which is designed to seat 6,400 students, yesterday. But it is on record that it had offered jobs to 126 students from 82 foreign universities last year.
Even if that figure of foreigners is ten times greater, does it mean Mr Murthy’s company is willing to slavishly mute his nation’s anthem for their sake?
Unfortunately, batting for the national anthem has become a Bajrang Dal exercise which is not quite the politically correct party in the land of churumuri. But what is the precise embarrassment that foreigners feel by listening to their host-country’s national anthem?
For starters, have the foreigners said so, or is Murthy presuming it and koorsing the goobe on their shoulders to nusk out of a national controversy?
And for another, at the Olympics and at the football World Cup, two events most foreigners are aware of, the national anthem of the winning team/player and the national anthem of the two competing teams are played per force, not just for the benefit of the players/teams, but also of those present in the stadium, who in most cases are foreigners, and a global television audience, which is always foreign.
If that is OK, why is it difficult for Infosys’ iPod wearing foreigners to listen to a 52-second, five-stanza number? Or for their faculty to make them listen to it?
But, above all, coming to a foreign country, to a foreign city, to a foreign company is all about learning, appreciating, assimilating, understanding, and respecting that country’s, that city’s, that company’s culture.
If Infosys’ foreigners—all 126 of or whatever multiples of them—are not doing that, then they have missed a vital ingredient of their education and even more vital ingredient of their excursion.
Narayana Murthy is being spoken of the “fantastic” next President. Hopefully, the first Kannadiga to be Rashtrapati will not have similar views of the rashtra geethe being sung in the presence of foreigners.
***
For the benefit of the embarrassed foreigners, here is a google video of it, which we reproduce most unembarrassedly.
Praja Vani alleges that 90 per cent of the 5,000 employees who had assembled for the Kalam function yesterday at the Infosys campus didn’t know the lyrics of the national anthem by heart.
For the benefit of ignorant Infoscions, here are the full lyrics.
***
Also read: Why NRN will make a poor President
Wow Wow, is this the same guy who want to be president? whom our holy media wants to annoint at the first oppertunity and don’t get tired of praising!
This guy is embarassed to sing national anthem in his own company premisis, and that too in India.
Just imagine if the same is said by any other person, imagine if this to be said by Muslim.
Ella nadi tayte here if your are from certain class….. coz we are demo(n)crazy
What is embarrassing is that a captain of a so called world-class organization, nurtured in a a so called “potential” super-power nation does not have the national zeal or the self-confidence to sing the national anthem in front of “foreigners”. One thought this obsequious nature of us Indians towards all things foreign was on the decline – at least amongst the classes that are constantly exposed to the global environment. What a let-down! We have a long way to go as a nation.
One just hopes this was a lame thoughtless excuse he conjured at the spur of the moment. Otherwise he has just revealed himself as someone who would not hesitate to put self and his company above national pride. He has revealed himself without any doubt as a two-faced opportunist who is extremely publicity hungry and couldn’t care less about anything that does not represent value for self. What a ridiculous suggestion to think that this man has the makings of a president. And what’s worse is Dr. Kalam’s endorsement.
As a IT professional, as an NIE alumnus, as a Bangalorean and above all an Indian, I truly hang my head in shame! I am still proud of all those attributes – but I need to look for better sources of inspiration and role models.
Wow !!! This is crazy !!!
Why would foreigners be embarassed? I think this is “goobe koorsing” as you put it.. a convinient excuse…
Wow, churumuri once again makes public its love and affection for the IT Industry and NRN!!
Granted this was an embarassing incident which should have never happened, and the excuses are as lame as they get (although I would be a little uncomfortable myself if I were in the midst of American colleagues lustily bawling out the ‘Star Spangled Banner’, to look at it from a slightly different perspective. They are after all Infosys employees too.), but the self-righteous vitriol on display is stunning!! At least the man had the courage to admit that this was a mistake which should be corrected next time. Its not as if he passed a fatwa decrying the singing of the national anthem as irreligious, I mean prohibited on the Infy campus.
Quite unlike another ‘national politician’ currently basking in the reflected glory of INdian Railways who continued sitting during the national anthem and didn’t so much as attempt to say sorry…
biggest land grabber of karnataka—- narayana murthy in the news again.
narayana murthy kaveri neeru kudiyodilla anthe , america dinda sewage water tarisi adannu kuditaare .
kaveri chalavi waste, kannada waste, india waste antha hemme inda maathaduva narayana murthya dodda waste.
ANNA TINNO MANUSHYARIGE MAANA MARYAADE IRUTTE, IVARIGRE YELLI IRUTTE.
This is shameful!! I think it was NRN and others at Infy who were embarrassed to sing the anthem.
Any foreigner at Infy would realize that the Indian national anthem has to be sung as the president of that nation was presiding over the function and proper protocols will have to be followed.
This is proof that Indian MNC are now trying to morph into rootless global corporations with sole allegiance to profits.
On a different note, more for infy bashing members ( IBM) a small anecdote that happened this weekend while coming from mysore to blore… a group of trainees at infy’s mysore campus had come to send off their friends at the bus stop and I could overhear what they were talking about…the dreaded test for trainees at the mysore campus, one of them was openly crying and had to be consoled by 5 others and the same was the case with the other trainee. Trust me they were dead scared about the test even tho most of them were engineers who had passed their engg exams. I felt really sorry for them and imagine what stress that the trainees would be under.
This brings up a question to my mind ;
when your own test /exam determines if you are eligible for working or not why do u insist on a min percentage of marks to get make the cut and qualify for a round of interview that too after a written test?
WTF is this? If this news item is true… Infosys doesn’t deserve to be in India – let alone Karnataka. Can someone bell the cat pleaseeee???
sir, no one can bell the cat, most of the politicians in karnataka have been bribed by NRN in the form of share allotments. news papers like TIMES OF INDIA WHICH HAS NOT REPORTED THIS INCIDENT act like his mouth piece.
so this man is behaving like IDI AMIN.
ACCORDING TO SOME SOURCES, he feels neglected and marginalised by his trusted ones. this frustration is evident in the way narayan murthy is speaking
ಮೂರ್ತಿ ಅವರ ಅವಕಾಶವಾದಿತನ ಬಹಿರಂಗವಾಗಿದೆ. ಸ್ವಾಭಿಮಾನಿ ಭಾರತೀಯ ತಲೆ ತಗ್ಗಿಸುವ ವಿಚಾರವಿದು. ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಗೀತೆಗೆ ಮಾಡಿದ ಅಪಮಾನ ಸಾಲದು ಎಂಬಂತೆ ಕಾವೇರಿ ವಿಚಾರದಲ್ಲೂ ಸಹ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ಸಲ್ಲದು ಎಂದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ ಹಾಗೂ ವಸತಿ ಸಮುಚ್ಚಯಕ್ಕೆ ನೀರು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿದಾಗಲೂ ಈ ಹೇಳಿಕೆಗೆ ಬದ್ಧರಾಗಿರುತ್ತಾರೇನೋ ನೋಡೋಣ.
NRN’ thoughts, comments and attitude on our National Anthem is OUTRAGEOUS, DISGRACEFUL, DISRESPECTFUL and ANTI INDIAN and has to be condemned in the strongest terms.
Just because foreigners arrive or present in our country it does not mean that we should not sing our anthem just to displease them. Tell me, in which country is this done? Foreigners have to respect the country’s national anthem and also other symbols – the flag, the emblem.
Just because NRN is doing business with foreigners or just because he has foreign invitees or just because he has foreign employees does not make him above law. He should remember that what all he or his company has achieved is also because the support of the country and its people.
The ‘fantastic’ incident is really fantastic. Some trainee asked President Kalam on the Infosys campus: What about NRN for president (or something to that effect’. Kalam the good man that he is (and probably keeping in mind he was a guest at the infy campus) just said ‘fantastic’ and put and end to this conversation. Fantastic as in absurd? Your guess. Anyway the great man Kalam handled it perfectly. Maybe the trainee got his promotion of 100 shares. Or maybe his 1 year bond was written off.
NRN’s (and his wife’s) political ambitions seem to know no end. After being shown his place when he tried to tango with professional politicians, he is trying this back door entry (to be president). With his looks, behaviour and superiority complex (notice how infosys management issue statements as though they have solved India’s problems – while all they do is depend on cost arbitrage – infinite supply of cheap labour, never risk making products), he will not even win a local election (only infosys employees and their families may vote for him but most may not be registered in Karnataka to vote). It would be sad indeed if he manages to push the thought that he will replace Dr. Kalam as the next president of India (which of course will never happen). He couldnt even take the role at bangalore airport to completion (all he probably wanted was publicity). The airport work is going fine after he quit. And he made noise about paying taxes after having gotten away with tax holidays for years. Just to make sure the future competition doesnt get the benefits he did. Same with his noise about not being given land at subsidised rates (which he got in the end). A real Chanakya – will give good competition to all career politicians – only thing given his nature, looks and charisma no one will vote for him if he did take up the profession full time.
He should stick to IT services/labour arbitrage, body shopping, bad mouthing local conditions where he operates, putting more buses on the streets and realty business in and around Bangalore.
This reminds of one incident one of my friend told me about his MD. The MD of a company in Jayanagar had to make a presentation to a prospective client in Germany. The client had an Indian map with J&K chipped at the top. This great man refused to make the presentation without chaning the map. Though a prospective, the client was apologetic and changed the map. To this MD of a small Blr company, his company’s fortunes were at stake.
But look at this shameless fellow. He wants only low cost labourers from India and nothing else. It seems that he has gone mad. Just imagine if he becomes the Prez and one day Bill Gates comes to Rashtrapathi Bhvn, there will be no Tricolour and he would put MS hoardings all over and remove the portraits. He would one day order the Heads of the Defence not to wear the uniforms as it would offend the foreigners. As thousands of crores is spent on Siachen, he would press for withdrawl of forces and use this money to provide sops to IT and provide subsidised land for making golf courses, multiplexes and malls. He should be asked to leave if he has no respect for the land. The Govt representatives should boycott all functions of this company. The DC of Mysore, if powers permit, should issue a notice for showing this disrespect to the National Anthem. He is disgusting.
President Kalam reacted to a question saying just that ‘idea is fantastic’. Not, Murthy as president is fantastic. All mostall misquoted kalam’s words.
Mr.Ramesh, I think you are right. He is reported to have said – ‘…fantastic..next question please..’. But most of the papers have misquoted and misreported too.
The next thing he will say is lets sell Rashtrpati bhavan, Gora’s like it!!! This is crazy!!
NRN’s statement was quite unbelievable indeed and totally unexpected from a person.
what a shame. somebody on the other post wrote about this ‘dhimmi’ attitude of the services industry and as if to prove it to the T, he follows up with this.
so here again it is– the nation is not a services industry.
`ಬಸ್ಸು ಸುಡೋದ್ರಿಂದ, ಬಂದ್ ಮಾಡೋದ್ರಿಂದ ನೀರು ಸಿಗೊಲ್ಲ’ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನಾರಾಯಣ ಮೂರ್ತಿ ವಾದ. ಸರಿ, ಹಾಗಾದ್ರೆ ನನ್ನದೊಂದು ಸಲಹೆ ಇದೆ. ಇಡೀ ಇನ್ಫೋಸಿಸ್ ತಮಿಳ್ನಾಡಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಲಿ, ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಬದಲಾಗಿ ಕರುಣಾನಿಧಿ ಕಾವೇರಿ ನೀರಿನ ತಂಟೆಗೆ ಬರದಿರಲಿ! ಸೇವ್ ವಾಟರ್, ಬಚಾವ್ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ!
Don’t mean to make this personal, but we need to ask NRN if the universtities and any events his kids attend in the US refrain from playing/singing the US national anthem because NRN’s kids are foreigners and that they would be embarassed?
If he is so embarassed then do not have foreign employees in India and have them work out their respective countries? So much for globalization and other BS that he talks about…..
What a shame ? Now NRN wouldnt even win a GRAM PANCHAYATHI election with his swatantra party(if revived ) .
KP , NRN would appoint you as head of GLOBAL P.R.O of Infosys and official Spokesman based out of Manhatten . It seems he just cant escape you ‘Week after Week’ being pounded by CHURUMURI .
would you take his offer ( if extended? ) ?
( Simply kaal yeLying Siva )
How do we make sure these articles and comments reach the beneficiary?
Can Someone post the emails,Contacts etc so that they can be routed to our end client ?
It is not a Visa endorsement to make money in a foreign country through
their representatives. Let Narayana Murthy first manufacture ear plugs for
his foreign hosts and supply to them to attend all the public related functions.
No function of Infosys should be allowed to start or end with Jana gana mana in future. Land grabbing is similar to both Deve Gowda family and Narayana Murthy. They want everything from the country and the state without any gratitute. Both the familes are curse to the state. And now both are aspiring to become President of India. Do we have any sense of shame to be promoting such people? We should jump into the KR sagar bed (no water now) at least to express our displeasure, and land up in hospital with a broken limb. God save India and the state from these money mongers.
Dear All,
Game set and match to DB :)
NRN is one of those guys who would be embarrassed about their own mothers! (Bharatmata)
NRN’s reasoning assumes we are all stupid. But going to the allegation that 90% of all Infosys employees didn’t know the words to the national anthem, Prajavani is making (and churumuri relaying) a dangerous and unwarranted correlation – that somehow being an Infosys employee makes you forget the national anthem. Truth be told, most youngsters these days don’t know the national anthem. You would see the same result if you go to the Vikrant factory (or BEML or L&T) nearby.
Schools these days don’t make the kids sing the national anthem every morning like we used to.
For all the SHIT that these ‘IT Institutions’ have made by selling the Knowledge base of India for peanuts for Corporate Monkeys of US of A .
GOI should bring an ordinance that all IT Cos would make their employees read out (yes LOUD) our national anthem .
There is no shame in standing when a nations anthem is being sung even by a foreigner . If he ( foreigner) loves his country and I am fully sure that he respects the anthem of another country . So the biggest traitor is the GUY who felt ashamed to sing National anthem .
Tell me What is the difference between this traitor and countless Traitors who sided with british Raj against their own Kingdom / Motherland centuries ago . Shouldnt he be HANGED?
NRN thumba nachke pat koltharey! Janagana mana kelidhrey awarigey thumba assahya matthu dukkha agutthey!
I always thought guy NRN was a real SM.
But when people said that directly or made fun of his appearance, his stupid soda glasses, his total fake American accent, his appearing on some hindi show for bollywood people, his arrogant remarks about India/ Karnataka/ Bangalore (when all he did was grab land), his sending his children to convent schools/US universities to do bachelors etc. etc.; I used to think, let him be its his life. After all hypocrisy is a way of public life in India.
Now considering what an anti-national he is – we can abuse the guy in any way we want.
The President’s reply was just one word ‘fantastic’ and immediately he moved on to the next question without elaborating his reply. He just evaded the question by replying in that one word. The way he answered that question probably meant ‘it was a fantastic question.’
The press in india is really alert to the good and bad and the ugly as well.
C’mon he was asked how he felt about Mr. Murthy as the next president, he had to be diplomatic and most of the newspapers have reported that he said “fantastic” three times consecutively.
I deeply resent the Prajavani article and its relaying by Churumuri. I am an ex-infoscion and am still proud of being associated with a great company.
What NRN, assuming he was quoted correctly by the media, has said is thoroughly detestable. Infosys management should have played the National Anthem… no questions about it. But the questioning of Prajavani of the patriotism of the thousands of Infoscions all over the country is disgusting.
I think BD Jatti was the first Kannadiga president, even though for a brief period.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basappa_Danappa_Jatti
GoldStar,
There is no need for you to feel resentment about this blogsite OR for that matter you need not feel bad for having worked for Infosys and more so, for having quit Infy. You have lessened one person’s travel on already crowded Hosur Road. I feel it would do a whole lot of good for Bangalore if all of the employees of Infosys leave that Organization. It will lessen the maddening crowd on that road.
Atleast after this incident, if some of your ex-colleagues leave Infy, then they will be contributing towards allround development of our country and especially bangalore.
Gokulam 3rd Stage,
Don’t Drag L&T and BEML into these issues. Have you ever worked there. I bet atleast 99% people in BEML can sing our anthem.
Thanks,
Guru
This is the time to take the direct action aganist Mr.NM. He do not have any moral right to live in Not only in Karnataka but also in India & in any other nation.
There is something deeply disturbing about Abdul Kalam. For all his independence, he patronises the usual suspects whereever he goes. Through what wondrous tactic does the JSS manage to woo him for any function that is held in Mysore? And, hey, is Infosys the only IT company in Mysore? Long before it arrived on the scene, Software Paradigms, a company started by an NRI from Mysore, Siddharth Mookerji, set up shop. The Kalams of the world should be recognising and rewarding these visionaries, who wanted to do something for the City they grew up in and who did not look at Mysore only as a real estate opportunity. Will Mookerji be bothered about allowing the national anthem to be played before his boys and girls? You bet.
KP,DB,DG
I have great respect for your learning and wisdom.
But aren’t you making a mountain of a molehill?
You might have grievances over the infosys business model or NRN’s insensitivity towards karnataka.But as an “outsider” i feel infosys has created 50000+ high paying jobs.He has enhanced karnataka’s prestige and standing.As TS remarked,where will the youngsters go?
There were 126 foreigners in the group.It is not right to impose our anthem on others.Is feelings for our land/people synonymous with singing of the anthem?This was no independence day function.It was just APJ visiting the infosys campus.
We have mis-placed ideas, ideals, idols!
We eulogise NRN more than Sir MV. One simple question I wanted to ask NRN. At any point of time has Infy produced any product for this country, other than one ‘chota’ banking software?
His company gobbles up the best of the brains from IITs, IISc, National Institutes and reputed engineering colleges to produce software patches for US and European companies. Atleast let me know how many patents his company owns as of today. As a matter of fact a laboratory of Mysore headed by a Mysorean (CFTRI under Dr Vishveshwariah Prakash) files dozens of patent applications every year.
A company’s progress should not be measured in terms of billion dollar turnover or profit, but its contribution nation’s progress.
Let me ask another question to NRN on the national anthem issue. Whether the american universities where his children are studying, would stop singing national anthems on their graduation days, just because foreigners like his children are getting embarassed? I bet his children sing american national anthem better than indian national anthem, by this time. Let Infy sing (or even dance) to the tunes of any nation, we request the company to shift to that country, which tolerates all the tantrums of NRN kind.
If this ‘fantastic’ choice of Dr Kalam, takes over the presidential chair, I think the sensible people of our kind must resort to `Quit India’ movement, atleast we should migrate to someother country!
A journo friend gave me an analogy which is worth reproducing here. In absolute rupee terms a surgeon in India may be earning less than a nurse in USA. With due respect to the nursing profession, let us imagine a situation all the surgeons of India are sent to USA to do nursing job and get paid in dollars by a company like Infy. The company makes huge profits, the family of the surgeons in India would be happier. Ultimate loosers are the countrymen deprived of the services of surgeons, and the country’s medical education resources are down the drain. This is exactly what Infy is doing.
I live in the ring road near BTM Layout. My house looks shabby, and my dress in the evening is banian and panche (dhoti). I drink coffee, tender coconut water. I get kannada newspapers and I travel by BMTC bus. My children study Kannada in the school. Can someone tell me whether this embarasses Infyions and their foreign nationals? If so, let them suggest new dress code and living style for me!
Dear KL,
It is not making a mole out of a mountain. It is about our self respect and national pride. It is against the national spirit. Just because he has created 50K odd jobs one cannot sacrifice his/her national interest. Going by the argument, tomorrow if there is any treat to national or local interests, one may not feel like aligning with the national interest as they might feel embarrasesd.
Mr.Murthy’s “minority appeasement” is certainly uncalled for and the sentiment in this blog is understandable. Even in the Olympics all the three medalists are supposed to stand through all of the anthems.
But to call him a traitor and question his national loyalty is absolutely ridiculous.
His company has created 60000+ jobs in this country.
His company has also shared the wealth it created with its employees and shareholders.
His success is an inspiration to millions in this country that a young man/woman with little money but ample talent can make one reach the pinnacle.
This is no mean achievement. NRN is to the Indian IT industry what Ford was to the American automobile industry.
There is merit in the point that the best and the brightest in the country end up working in IT companies thereby starving pure science and research of good talent. But who is to be blamed – is it just the IT companies? It is actually the job of the government to incentivize science and research. Only then, will the numbers go up in places like IIsc, IITs, TIFR and so on. The bottomline is that most people go and work for IT companies for the sake of money. Nobody is stopping them from doing research.
Mr Narayan Murthy..
QUIT INDIA
Just two points:
1. Even after 60 years we haven’t got rid of the ‘foreign Complex’.Any citizen, even an illiterate from Papua New Guinea to USA to Zambia know Any National Anthem is to be respected and there can be nothing’ embarassing’ about it. You just get up and Stand pay respect to the National Anthem whether you understand or not.
2. One can easily understand how President Kalam would have felt, as he always insists everywhere people should sing rather on play a ‘record’. Isn’t it time we have a law making it compulsory to ‘sing’ the National Anthem ? (what a shame it would be !)
a detailed investigation on the land grabbing by infosys in karnataka by CBI or retired supreme court judge, will expose the truth. indian democracy has plunged to a new low by the mention of NRN for president.
All of those who have been letting off steam here, good news. The southern editions of Indian Express have taken note.
Click on the link below:
http://tinyurl.com/2lblaj
Every one who is against the NRN on this issue pls get your facts together we donot know the ground realty on this issue and the media is well known to put things out of context in lime light for cheap publicity. And all of people who are questioning NRN integrity & respect to country pls look into yourselfs and ask what u people gave to the country first before questioning a man whom we should show the atmost respect towards. It is easy to find faults with others and comment, thats what we do most of our time. and I want to ask how many of all the people who are questioning would get up from there place when they hear national anthem.
All capitalists are not anti national, but is NRN.If u can remember Neeradh Chowdhry he had allergy for everything that is Inidian, he always wanted to leve in UK,and always blamed and wad disgusted by everything that is fine, holy , simle and awesome in India.NRN is the bastard maanasa putra of ‘Lord’Macaulay.
Dear country men, be aware the second freedom struggle has already started, but this time it is crucial. Own country men who have lost their nationalistic spirit are our enemies.To add yon past Sunday, at IIWC, Basavanagudi U.R.Ananthamurthy openly said he is not a nationalist…..NRN and URA may have many differences on many other grounds , but here they are really together.Lets be awre of these anti national elements however great they are.In the end if sacrifice comes in this poor society it will come from the poor and hungry-who are still proud to be Indians – not by intelligentsia.
Vande Maataram.
Pingback: NRN emabrassed by our national anthem !-Shifting gears-Team-BHP
The HR made an announcement not to sing the anthem. And then he realised he made a blunder and corrected it to “you can sing if you want”.
Wat a shame… We infoscians were stunned with such behaviour. Of course, the man, who is a Major of the Indian army has a history of running his mouth.
—A Proud Infoscian!
I guess it finally boils down to NRN making money, its the media who put him where he is now, and its them who are bringing him down.
the comment passed by him is seriously outrageous, how can Dr APJ even suggest his name for the president after such an incident
More media attention for the churumuri story. D.P. Satish has written a blog on CNN-IBN quoting the NRN story.
http://tinyurl.com/3xel95
dangerous politician in the making. look at the way NRN is using the media,
he has TIMES OF INDIA , NDTV in his pocket. these media houses are paid to boost his image. any news against him is censored.
publicly NRN DENIES that he has any interest in the post, but he is desperate for it.
kannada , kannadigas are in for a tough time if he becomes a president—- banning kannada in schools, making bengaluru a union territory, kicking out kannadigas from bengaluru,mysuru is his main agenda.
Anyway I saw Mr. NarayanMurthy not different from any irresponsible worker during his quiting of Chairmanship of BIAL. If we can analyse what happened, Mr Infy was asked by a Govt officer (Mr Gowda) on why did the Airport project was delayed for long time. Just as any manager would ask his reportee about a report. If the reportee is professional, then he would list those points which he finds are responsible for delay. May be the Government would have used this as learning for their other projects. But instead our Mr.Infy sought to runaway by resigning. by doing this he -Got public sympathy, Blame Mr.Gowda (foe of his friend Mr.Krishna). he was in a responsible position and appointed by the govt. So being responsible means able to respond when asked for/ when required.
His justification shows his arrogance. he wears it on his sleeves and does not hesitate to flaunt it. He thinks what ever he dishes out people would gulp it. Sorry, Mr. Murthy we are not Infosysians, thank god.
I feel it is also our mistake to raise him to this prominence with out realizing there are quite a few in this country who achieved much more in technology though not in money. The best solution I see is to Ignore him. The more you ask him, he has always a comment to make.
Lastly let me ask ask an open questions to the Infosyians “DO THEY APPROVE THE JUSTIFICATION GIVEN BY THEIR CHAIRMAN AND MWNTOR !!!!
As a shareholder of the company I am ashamed of the chairman.
KL – did anyone impose the National Anthem on the foreigners? Assume that the Anthem was played by the magnificent Mysore Police Band, I don’t think the foreigners would have felt embarassed. And please tell me, do you have such indecent foreigners on your campus who would not respect our National Anthem. Surely, they would have respected this rendition when the country’s Prez was gracing the ocassion. There is a limit to bend backwards. This reminds of the babus of the yore who used to run behind the goras to check if they can feed his horse!
Was Mr Narayana Murthy worried about embarrassing the foreigners who were on the campus, or was he in reality scared of displeasing one or other of his foreign clients who keep his company in business, by displaying allegiance to his own country? We demand an apology Mr Murthy, even if you don’t think it is necessary.
Vatal Nagaraj accused Murthy of insulting the language, culture and national anthem of the country by choosing not to sing the anthem at the function. He sought the state government to take immediate action against him and deport him.
I one voice that can be heard LOUD and CLEAR is VATAL ..No matter if many of us dont approve of his means or his hafta culture
KL , Any educated citizen of any country will stand up for a national anthem .No matter which country it is being played .Thats the Culture .
Patriotism is alike if Indians show to India or Americans show to America .
The pride is the same in everyones hearts .
In a football match do you see fans standing only when their country’s national anthem is being played .They standup always irrespective of which country that is being played .
So in a nutshell you not only love your country but should also respect others in this world. I am sure the foreigners wouldnt have minded when the Indian national anthem was sung . Its only our ‘TRAITOR’ murthy who felt otherwise .
Hi.
Live life like King Porus, Mr. NRN.
Who is much bigger ?
Foreigners or the National Anthem.
Krishna
We make products. No cost arbitrage.
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Much ado about nothing !
Really – why this outpouring of resentment from people? NRN allegedly made a statement that has to be commented on for its stupidity. What we have here is verbal diarrhoea from everyone who subscribes to the jairam ramesh philosophy “yankee go home but take me with you” .
I can bet every nationalist who’s commented here is envious of what NRN has achieved and will give an arm and a leg to be another NRN.
Where are all you patriots when your fellow citizens are being brutalised in various parts of the country ?
Where are all you patriots when your local politicians are keener on screwing NRN than they are on giving you kannadigas better roads and better schools ?
Where are all you patriots when you keep mum at the union railway minister sitting on a chair with his CM Wife while the anthem is being sung on republic day ?
Lets not go overboard in our indictment of NRN. I am not an infy employee nor stakeholder – just a citizen of india. Let not the good NRN has done for India be wiped away by an insensitive remark – assuming it was made at all.
And lets take a leaf from Gandhijis book shall we ?
Ila
Ila – “Let not the good NRN has done for India be wiped away by an insensitive remark – assuming it was made at all.”
The statement was made. And we are talking about that (only). In the light of some infosys employee asking the current President of India about his view on NRN being the next president.
We will talk about the good NRN has done another time. If it is something unique and relevant to spirit of this blog. Otherwise there are a thousand things we could talk about, say about many other industrialists who have done good in Karnataka/Bangalore. Like Azim Premji, VG Siddartha etc. etc.
And I personally am not a patriot, nor do I subscribe to the philosophy you mentioned nor would I give anything to be in NRN’s shoes.
Oh and if any of us poor folks have a realistic chance of being the president of India, by all means we will discuss threadbare what we do, the good and the bad.
I saw some people suggesting ‘MANA NASTA MOKKADHAMME’ against Churumuri , DG,DB ,TS, Anonymous….oops anonymous .
How would one find who he is ? LOL
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Mr Murthy please watch the hindi movie “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham” wherein a schoolboy of Indian origin teaches his British classmates the national anthem of India to sing at a school function. How can a person of such high integrity make such careless statements about national anthem.
Just to say that the foreigners are sensible and large hearted enough to understand the culture and respect it.
Way back in 1991, we were part of the Youth Exchange Programme to Canada, On our Independence day, on request, the authorities had arranged for Indian flag hoist on Canadian soil, (Kirkland lake, Ontario).(which probably in India, if any foreigners do it, it will become another big hungama). The large hearted citizens understood that it was just symbolic. Both Canadians and Indians learnt and sang each others’ national anthem with respect and joy on all important occasions.
NRN should feel very fortunate indeed to have so many people doing his nama smarane.
The man has his faults just as everyone does. I personally think his views on language, culture etc. are asinine and his explanation on why the national anthem was not sung has to take the cake.
However, I would much prefer NRN over all our political leaders for ability and honesty – recognizing that there is a large area of grey with no black or white. NRN would be towards the more virtuous side of the spectrum than our other leaders. This does not mean I think NRN would make a good political leader. Just that he has done more good for society with his resources than many political leaders – including our dear Mannina Maga – have.
I fail to understand why the kind of reaction that we see for NRN here on this blog (which for some strange reason has positioned itself as a NRN and Infosys baiter) is not mirrored for our politicians – the true bandicoots of our society. I’ve seen some people say things to the effect that, “He thinks he is god and therefore we expect him to be perfect. If he can’t he should shut up”. With all due respect, that is a load of crap. It tells us something about ourselves that we actually vilify a man of whom we have higher expectations while not uttering a peep about the crooks who deserve more.
OK I am now ready for the comments that will attack me instead of what I wrote.
Oh and one more thing.
“NEVERTHELESS, a city is only as good as its people and Mysore, if you’ll pardon the bombast, has produced some awfully good ones. I often play a little game of compiling a list of The Most Important Mysoreans of the last 50 years; people who have spread our city’s name far and wide. This week, my top-20 reads: R.K. Narayan, R.K. Laxman, M.N. Srinivas, Raja Ramanna, A.K. Ramanujan, N.R. Narayanamurthy, K.V. Puttappa, E.S. Venkataramaiah, P.R. Brahmananda, C.D. Narasimhaiah, M.S. Sathyu, H.Y. Sharada Prasad, ‘Veene’ Doreswamy Iyengar, Faroukh Irani, ‘Piteel’ Chowdaiah, T.S. Satyan and Javagal Srinath………….Does the Parsi who employed thousands to make motorcycles score over the dreamers who have contributed to Mysore’s literary image? Or does the school-teacher’s son who set up India’s best-loved IT company put everybody else in the shade?…………..”
The above is an excerpt from the Diary pages of Outlook magazine by our very own KP. Has NRN become such a hateful figure so soon? I try to look for reasons why this “beloved” son of Mysore has made so many enemies. And I am stumped when I see stories like this compared to entries on this blog!
Full diary here
http://www.outlookindia.com/diary.asp?fname=mysore_diary_krishna_prasad.htm&subsubsecname=Mysore&fodname=20001113&authorname=Krishna+Prasad
NRN should be thrown out of india.
Stupid comment….irresponsible statement ….ok letz forgive that ….let uz not forgive to entertain kannada and kannadigas in any way…
Encourage, Help , support for kannadigas….i request all kannadigas.
thanks, Suresh Gowda
Gokulam Sir, Pl. remove NRN’s name from ypur list of top 20-Mysoreans. Its a disgrace to other respected Mysoreans to have NRN’s name in this list. Mysoreans are known for their love towards their motherland (both India and Karnataka). Its a shame that NRN can think this way. He is only trying his to placate somebody and then now goes on to offer a lame standard excuse that he was misquoted. Does he think that all of us are ‘moorkhas’ to believe him now. NRN has always tried to pove that only infosys and infoscians are working for this country and rest all and good for nothing.
First the most of the Indian media tried to coverup the antinational statement of N.R Murthy
Now as the Karnataka MLA’s has raised the issue see the spin given by Times of India for instance
On Sunday, the media questioned Murthy on the choice of an instrumental version. Some reports quoted him saying: “We had arranged for five people to sing the Anthem. But then we cancelled it as we have foreigners on board here. They should not be embarrassed while we sing the Anthem.’’
see the usage of the words Some reports, What about you times of india, why you did not report the news in first place.
This is the same media which blowed out, APJ Abdula kalam’s remark of “fantastic” when a trainee asked how about murthy to be president.
Now this statement of Toi takes the cake in defending Murthy “This statement upset a section of people, some of whom have been expressing their dismay on blogs. According to Infosys, the context of the statement was not adequately dealt with in the reports.”
Well it seems very small section of people have pride in National Anthem now
Nice Toi we know you sell yourself to the highest bidder like a prostitute …which you also accepts. But do you sell the pride of country in national anthem to these Moron’s, for whom profits and comforts of Americans only matter.
It was interesting to read KP’s article.
After reading this article, I am seeing NRN’s statement in a new perspective.
Well NRN as we all know is a old Mysorean who grew up singing kaYo shrI gauri and always thought adhinayaka jayahe as a blatant servitude by the Tagore to the Emperor and thus feels embarrassed if any foreigner asks for the meaning of the National Anthem! So like most countries world over took to the instrumental version! NRN is right after all, why sing an Anthem which still thinks sindh as part of Bharat and all of south as Dravidian! Are we not embarrassed!
Coming closer home, Double Eagle has been a symbol of Mysore State and continues to be part of the Karnataka state symbol. But in a club in Mysore it is part of the floor of Swimming Pool. Come to think of it most of the rich and famous of Mysore are members of this club. What will Vatal say now? Arrest all members of this club.
To all people who have something againt NRN pls use ur brains and not blind hatered. Whar NRN has done should not be blown out of proportion. There are far more disrespect happening to or national flag and anthem as they are always flow or sung by our corrupt politicians who are always bothered about their SWISS bank accounts and chairs, And all of you banglorians and mysorians ex: Raghu.. if u want to disown NRN pls do so at your peril we the hyderabadis welcome him open heartedly and would be proudly calling him a pakka HYDERABADI.
Raghu,
Please read carefully. The list has been prepared not by Gokulam, but by Krishna Prasad, the learned and respected owner of this blog.
Agreed that there are more disrespected happenings to our national flag and anthem, but WHY? answer is simple.. when so called IDIOTS like NRN who has respect (well no longer) gives such stupid statements to the press which is read by MILLIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY..than what? SHAME ON U NRN..GO TO HELL….
KP,
PLEASE ReSpOnD !!
The national anthem is supposed to be only for 52 seconds. The video you have proudly and “unembarrasedly” put up here runs for 1.03 minutes i.e 63 seconds (see the status bar of the google video).
If you carefully watch the video, the anthem starts at the 5th second. Which means the song actually runs for 58 seconds. Even if you remove an additional 3 seconds for observation errors, it runs for 55 seconds.
This is NOT a formal APPROVED National Anthem. It is an embarassment. PLEASE REMOVE THIS.
will NRN get the pink slip?
Mr Narayana murthy
I think age has caught with him
Aravthakkee arulooo marullooo antha yeluthare alvaaa adaakeee
His amibition was to become a Ambassador to his master nation USA.
Atleast Narayana murthy should learn pride , patriotism from hsi masters(USA).
Shame on you
I think he is getting made
Sumne muchikonduu Business madikonduu irappaaa
Athavaaa USA ge hogi avaraa National anthem adhuuu
He will definitely sing National anthem of USA when he is in USA because he will feel they will be embrassed
Kannadiga
Awesome article. We really should pity this fellow NRN… A man who chose to embarass his country rather than a bunch of foriegners in his midst… Kudos Mr.Murthy, its because of people like you that we Indian still have bad reputations some places around the globe. Again you prove that IT professionals end up as empty shells, mostly because there are people like you leading the bandwagon. Believe me when I say this, when it comes to integrity, you have none.
Yaake Mai Parachikolthiraa?
1. nimage infosys share sikkillava?
2. Duddiddavrannu nodidre Nimage hotte uriyuttha?
3. Neevu infosys test fail aagi churmuri sale madthaa iddeera?
Anonymousge mana nasta mokkadhammena? Conducterge ticketaa?
Raviraj Gowdre,
Adhyavudhu alla. Ansthu barudhvi. Infosys sharu, testu bitre berenu idhe ee prapanchadhalli. Kannu bittu nodi.
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KP,
My apologies for not recognising the owner of the list.
Sitaram,
We are not disowning him but I only meant that his name cannot be included in the l;ist of proud Mysoreans. Just in case you did not know, the list published by KP has some of the stalwarts who have rendered great service to the socieity and did not involve themselves in media hype and did not yearn for publicity
I never feel embarrassed when someone asks me to take off my shoes before entering their home. Never felt embarrassed respecting someone’s culture: wearing a headgear at the Dome of the Rock, hand kerchief at the Golden Temple, Amritsar, baring the top at the Guruvayoorappan Temple or buying a “lungi” at Vatican to enter St. Peter’s Basilica.
Don’t feel embarrassed standing up at the Sea World, Florida or local fireworks, when the Americans stand and sing their “Star Spangled Banner”. Don’t think the foreigners at the Infosys Corporation would feel embarrassed either. It’s just in human psyche to respect. In Rome be a Roman. It’s just NRN felt they would be embarrassed. I don’t think he chose the wrong word. At least he was sincere about that at the press conference.
It’s we as Indians should be embarrassed for having such leaders as NRN, L.P. Yadav.
Don’t even think it was businessman in him going an extra mile to keep his employees comfy. Think it’s the deep seated shame many Indians harbor.. Like one of my roommates at the Texas A&M who was ashamed to look at his face everyday in the morning “kOLaku desi muka”. Such is the inferiority lots of Indians suffer. Thought economic success would lift one from that shame. But NRN has proved it wrong. Guess the black Africans who hunted fellow black men in 17th – 18th century West Africa eventually to sell them to white slave traders harbored similar guilt. Real success and pride guess comes from creating something NEW from scratch. Or may be we are doomed ever to lend the other cheek?
(Cross Posted on other postings)
NRN only indicated that “We accept that we have sold this country long before”. Why beatup the guy for saying the truth…
Just see how much of culture and peace has been induced because of the MNCs. We now started respecting Women because of the strict policies imposed by the foriegn companies. The still are teaching mannerism, character and ethics of business. We appreciate all this..
Our guy (NRN) who sees the world from higher level sees how important it is to respect foriegners before we chew our food.
It all boils down to who actually is benefitted by grinning at the foriegn countries, NRN like guys or those who dont even have money to apply for Ration Card/Passport
Narayana Murthy and the national anthem
Spiderman famously said,” with great power comes great responsibility”. Mr. Narayana Murthy watch out!
Yes, Mr Murthy we are all watching. Waiting for you to slip. We don’t want you to fail, however, we shall put up each word of yours for analysis (check it at http://www.counterreport.com) and debate. However, if you want to setup your company in my state, my goverment is ready to snatch my land and give it to you at dirt prices. So don’t fret, keep doing what you are and just keep your mouth shut.
Ila,
Shut your mouth.Will you !! Dont generalise and bucketise the politicians in one bucket.
All may not subscribe to your every thought
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What more can be expected from the head of a shoe shine shop whose only business it is to shine the white man’s shoes for less than the market rate.
Murthy’s breed can stoop to any level for a couple of dollars. It’s time we stopped deifying him. I am sure the way contracts are won for Infosys would not really underline the clean reputation that he enjoys/ created.
All I have to tell him – shame on you!
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I live in the US and I hear the national anthem every where I go, baseball games, concerts. Being in the US its my duty to respect the local sentiments.
i dont think anyone would get offended.
Its just a slave attitude that spoke.
While i have been grumbling that the school my kids go to dont teach the national anthem, this gaffe should come from NRN . Its a shame that I share his name.
I share my experience, as a tourist I went to New York to visit the (off all the places the symbol of US) statue of liberty, and my my what should greet me while i stood in the queue? an amercian street musician played jana gana mana on his violin the moment he guessed I was an Indian.
I truly felt elated at this. And about the same time I read the news about NRN feeling embarassed about the national anthem and where? Mysore.
I neednt say more on this.
hahahahaa, i spent 4 yrs of my life graduating in mechanical engg and when i pass out they say go and do software work , this land does not value its educated.
and naryan is their leader…….we core stream graduates will have our revenge in this life or the other>>>>>>>>>>>……
All, I don’t think any of these comments make sense. Firstly, it does not mean we need to sing the national anthem every where the president goes, sits, walks, talks. Don’t you think it might be a little too much for him? Secondly, Narayana Murthy is a person of the highest integrity and far far away from a shrewd political mind set. We should all be proud that this serious looking man with his thick specs and partial american accent went boldly where no Indian has gone before. To the very heart of American business, in the midst of mind boggling obstacles both from home and abroad. With nothing going for Indians anywhere in the world. He has established the first truly global Indian company with the highest levels of transparency and zero tolerance for corruption. Please dont be foolish and curse your fello Bangaloreans in Infosys out of jealous and ignorance. There will come a time when you also will get into Infosys or a company inspired by it. To sustain our leadership position and to beat China, we need to create more and more jobs and entrepreneur opportunities for our citizens and stop wasting time pulling down our own from climbing a couple of steps up the corporate ladder.
This national anthem is indeed an embarrassment . It is in bangali and , the language that south indians are not conversant with. Why should people sing some Mumbo Jumbo just because it is written by some bangali poet who was awarded with Nobel prize. National anthem should be in the regional language and people should know the full meaning of it.