Agreed that Infosys is one of India’s most admired companies today, with vast cash reserves and sound management principles (A Debugged Operating $ystem, January 27). But it is quite surprising that even after recruiting the cream of Indian talent, it is yet to come out with a product or research work that India could be proud of and show to the world. All it seems to be doing is providing software services to its clients when there’s work and keeping its employees on the bench when there’s none. Obviously, one expects more from our ‘most admired company’ to prove to the world that there’s more to Indian IT than just bodyshopping and techno sweat shops to which jobwork can be outsourced.
Prateek Kaul, Pune
The good things about Infy is that it has always invested in human resources. It hires the best people, trains them, gives them the best working environment and the feeling that they are part of the larger Infosys family and that they won’t be fired even if the industry suffers a downturn in the short run. How many of our public sector bosses would be comfortable if a new recruit addressed them with their first names rather than ‘Sir’?
Kanak R. Nambiar, Karaikal
That was a splendid job by the Infosys PR department. As their fabled esops are no longer very lucrative and its salaries are the lowest in the industry, dissatisfaction among Infosys employees is really high. Had your correspondent spoken to some people independently and not gone around in a company car, he’d have had a better idea of the truth. And going by the recent crop of freshers who have joined, it doesn’t seem they will do any good for the Infy cause as none of them look likely to go up on the command chain.
Anonymous, Bangalore
Gee, yet another article on Infosys by Outlook! Why can’t you understand that despite all the hype, the Indian IT industry is nothing more than a source of cheap labour for mncs? A bulk of the truly technical stuff gets done at the client’s itself, only the mundane stuff reaches Wipro and Infosys. All these ‘scions’ are good at mouthing jargon like ‘core competency’, ‘cutting-edge technology’ and the like. The sad fact is, the Premjis and the Murthys do not have the spine to get into real product development.
Karthik Srinivas, Bangalore
If we go by that old dictum ‘Distrust the obvious’, then I think we have to take all the rosy hype surrounding Infosys with a pinch of salt. Remember Andersen and Enron? And then, your comments on the salaries and such like only converts the credulous.
Vinoo Ramakrishnan, New Jersey, US
Your cover article was a timely reminder that businesses and businesspeople do not have to be crooks or need to be mollycoddled by corrupt governments or make money through monopolistic or oligarchic practices. Accumulation of wealth need not be at the cost of the due share of others. Compare Infosys’ management with that of typical mncs where the constant focus is on profit maximisation through layoffs. Or take the case of Dow Jones Chemicals, which is demanding compensation from the Bhopal gas victims for lost manhours!
Hari Chathrattil, Syracuse, US
The article does meagre justice to what is admired as the best company in India and, indeed, one of the best companies in the world. I think everybody knows more than your ‘discoveries’ about Infosys and have a better perspective on its unique work ethic. Descriptions like "seven Kannadiga engineers" or "a short dark, post-office-clerkish-looking man" are primitive; conversations and observations seem either sort of negative or ordinary. Finally, Outlook must stop understanding traditional Indian values as middle-class values.
Saravanan Natrayan, Greensboro, US
Your cover story on Infosys was embarrassingly gushy to read. There are some not so popular facts about Infosys which might have reached your ears had you spoken to the competition. Like the huge case of professional malpractice against the company in Kenya. As for successful individuals, Azim Premji heads the list but we don’t see eulogies of him or his company all over the place. If Narayana Murthy is so self-effacing, how come we are treated to stories about his goodness every few days?
Sanjukta Adhikari, on e-mail
Having worked with Infosys for a brief period, it has been intriguing for me to watch its outstanding growth. Is it an aberration, an accident of probability? Many attribute it to some sort of a master-plan, to sundry corporate practices, but nothing by way of a clear model that could be emulated. Yes, it fosters in its people the instinct that helps perpetuate success. Their grasp of the market and client needs is unmatched. So’s their ability to convey an image of solidity within and without. But is this a sufficient answer? My hunch is, not even they know why their courtship with success has lasted so long. I am tempted to use the cliche, nothing succeeds like success.
Harish Prasad, Bangalore
Give us a collective break! This was as pathetic as propaganda can get outside of an inhouse mag. Complete with the Infy logo on the cover and the aside on how Narayana Murthy has a devoted male secretary, most unlike the naughty Phaneesh Murthy. How much did it take for Outlook to sell its soul?
Kuruvilla Abraham, on e-mail
If India were a three-wheeler vehicle, this could be the solution to all its problems:
A powerful weekly published from New Delhi cannot understand the feelings expressed by a veteran actor like Kamalahaasan in Anbe Sivam, maybe because he is a mere ‘Madrasi’ (January 27). The movie may not be a hit in the B and C centres of Tamil Nadu but we do need a Kamalahaasan to make offbeat and realistic movies like Anbe Sivam, otherwise all you get is a Devdas or Kaante.
R. Shridhar, Chennai
Anbe Sivam was a good film. It was different and and I hope the people who review movies for you get a lowdown on what good cinema is all about.
Sangeetha Prabhu, on e-mail
I was shocked at the harsh review you gave Anbe Sivam. You do not have a word about the extraordinary histrionics of Kamalahaasan or his boldness in telling such a different story. Just take a look at the rubbish being filmed around. Perhaps then you’ll be able to give audacious attempts like these the credit that they deserve.
Surendar Amarnath, on e-mail
It was refreshing to read Amit Chaudhuri’s essay Wage a War to Win Your Peace (January 27). Some of us here in Bombay have been thinking along the same lines. When Narendra Modi talks of the pride of five crore Gujaratis being hurt by secularist propaganda, he wants us to believe that somehow those killed, raped and looted last year in the state-sponsored pogrom, being Muslims, were not Gujaratis or Indian citizens. For far too long, we, the ordinary citizens of India, have been fighting shy of demanding our constitutional rights during communal violence, especially when the victims are Muslims or Dalits. Perhaps, as Chaudhuri suggests, this assertion alone by the Muslims and the Dalits will force radical Hindus to confront the reality of a secular, democratic India rather than the myth of a Hindu India being secular because it is Hindu-dominated.
Leena Vrijendra, Bombay
Chaudhuri’s idea of getting the minorities united and fighting for better treatment from their rulers may sound a bit utopian but is the best possible recourse for beleaguered minorities in this country to get out of their plight. Even our secularists should try such a line instead of writing lengthy columns and making sensational statements.
Asadha Arul, Mugaiyur, Tamil Nadu
To say that the sari is dying (Sari, Wrong Number, January 27) is going too far. As an item of daily wear, it might be a little inconvenient and unpopular. In a way, that’s a blessing. The type of daily wear saris that were being churned out at Surat and other such mills—the 4.5 mt to 5 mt stuff—were a disgrace. Something as elegant and graceful as a sari will survive through generations, fashion changes and emerge a winner.
B. Sita Shanti, on e-mail
Apropos Vinod Mehta’s observation about Bollywood being a goodwill ambassador (Delhi Diary, January 27), allow me to relate my own experience. On a Mediterranean cruise off Athens in November 1980, I was the only brown skin on board and was aware of the looks I was getting. Especially interesting were the glances cast at me by three twentysomethings all of one morning. After a while, they approached me and asked if I was Indian. When I said yes, and added Bombay, their faces lit up. They were from Syria and were great Bachchan fans. The next hour was spent answering queries on the Big B in particular and Bollywood in general. One of them gingerly asked me to sing My name is Anthony Gonsalves. The rest of my time on that ship was spent running away from those lovely girls!
Bhaskar P., Bangalore
Saying that Sachin isn’t the destructive batsman he used to be in odis is not fair (Be Afraid..., January 20). What else do you expect when India’s technically most correct and best batsman isn’t sent out to open the game; he’s not even No. 3? What have Laxman and Mongia done to bat above Sachin? Count on Ganguly to bring about the fall of the best—not in the opposition, but within his own team.
Girish Dayalan, Chandigarh
Why can’t Sachin open? The team brains trust should have sorted this out before emplaning for SA. Without this, they can kiss a collective goodbye to their World Cup hopes. Ganguly is technically suspect against the short ball and outside the off-stump, supposedly his strong side. Sachin has no such weaknesses. With Sehwag at the other end, they can wreck any opposition on a good day.
Aashim Gupta, Patial
You’ve lately been flooded with letters threatening to cancel subscriptions. They are free to switch to objective journals like Panchajanya, Organiser, etc, and cultivate better outlooks. Please let them. I hope these periodicals are available in the US.
Rajanish Kumar, Kochi
Apropos Sari, Wrong Number (January 27), the beautiful six-yard fabric—whether in cotton or silk or chiffon—has been in India for thousands of years, ruling every other garment, and will continue to do so for ever. Have no doubt about that. It is incorrect and unfair to say that the sari is uncomfortable to wear just because the so-called "comfortable to wear" westernwear and salwar-kameezes have come into existence. Indian women have worn only saris for centuries and have never found them uncomfortable! There is nothing more elegant and dignified than a sari. It is most insulting to the sari as well as the sari-wearer to say that "only dumb and unsuccessful people wear saris"! Are we, our mothers, our sisters and all those who wear saris dumb or unsuccessful? Indira Gandhi was neither dumb nor a failure and she wore the most beautiful saris! The sari is the queen of all garments and will never die. Long live the sari.
R.E. Rajalakshmi, Bangalore
The Sahitya Akademi is yet another casualty of political jockeying (Writers’ Blocs, Feb 17). How did a stalwart of Bengali literature like Sunil Gangopadhyay join G.C. Narang’s saffron camp? This, after he was deputed Calcutta’s sheriff. A little saffron on his red cap now?
Reeten Ganguly, Tezpur, Assam
