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[Music]
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the story of empasis one of India's most
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successful post- liberalization stories
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has been well told but what is less
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welln is how emphasis the business finds
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roots in the love story of suda Muti and
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Nar morti a self-confessed leftist a
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28-year-old Nar morti fell in love with
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sudha Kulkarni an engineer who had
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stormed her way into what was formerly
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Telco Now tataa Motors becoming the
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first woman to work on the company's
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shop floor a few years later she would
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unknowingly become one of India's best
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angel investors putting down 10,000
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rupees virtually all her savings to fund
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mti's
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dream
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she was way young full of joy full of uh
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humor uh full
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ofra uh you know it was uh she kind of
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she lit up the room was it love at first
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sight for
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you I would say yes for me but I don't
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know what she things so I hope she do
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think so but what what does it Love at
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First side for you Mrs morti no because
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I was brought up in engineering College
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only girl uh with all male members my
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classmates friends so talking to any
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other young man is as good as talking to
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a friend it is not like you know uh oh
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if I meet a young man I Fall in Love no
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I was not that kind and I knew how to
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talk to a boy without feeling shy so it
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was not shy or not and you haven't been
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I mean you were the the only woman to
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start working at Telco on the shop floor
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creating history so you've created
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history and broken barriers and pushed
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boundaries in your own way in the'
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70s so for me it is like another young
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bright fellow I met him PR's friend PR
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was my colleague at T up and coming
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fellow up and up and coming fellow I
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want the two of you to relive the uh the
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proposal which uh which quite romantic
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actually happened in an auto Ria in Pune
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so and and it was a it was completely
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spontaneous because you hadn't actually
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planned to do that so how did that
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happen were young what is there decided
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to marry you know we more spontaneous 50
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years back I met Mor 50 years back yeah
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and
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uh not no 49 and 3 months because
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October no but uh you know those days
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you're in you don't
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uh you you're quite
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exuberant
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[Music]
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you kind
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of because you are exuberant and
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spontaneous sometimes you don't
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analyze
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the analyze what you say very carefully
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before
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saying and of course when you're sitting
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next to a
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angle only well of course the Richa
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driver is there in the front but as
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winess yes abs and uh you know you we
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coming from East Street in Puna of
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course you you have been in Puna so you
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know it very well I don't need to disc
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to you we had gone to chuna there but
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Puna the Lord from and then uh it by
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then you know I I in some way I knew I
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was going
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[Music]
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to take up a job because I had closed
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softronics
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and I had already got some inkling of
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what I would do and I was lot more
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confident and uh there was of course lot
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of skepticism from her her side father's
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side of obviously I I don't blame him
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for AK I would have done the same thing
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and so in some way there was that
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hurry there was that
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exuberance and I said yeah this is the
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truth and you didn't you didn't think
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whether you should give it some time to
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think about it you said yes
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immediately well by the time we knew
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each other for four years four years
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it's not a small
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time I knew what he is by that time okay
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eventually that culminated into the two
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of you getting married on the 10th of
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February
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1978 uh and it wasn't an easy battle to
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win because you had to convince your
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father you didn't do a very good job of
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trying to convince him when you showed
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up in a red shirt and showed up late so
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so you didn't win brownie points with
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your future father-in-law clearly and
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had to work hard on that relationship
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and you were very clear about how you
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wanted to do your wedding a small
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wedding uh and that didn't earn you sort
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of points from either families either
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what was that like to be able to
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negotiate one of the most significant
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events of your life on your own terms uh
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I have 75 first
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cousins I come from a huge family
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everybody had a family tree I have a
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family
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forest okay and it was the first wedding
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in my family in the sense in my father's
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house and uh naturally when we celebrate
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that whole all my cousins will turn up
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and it will be minimum 200 people on my
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side and apart from mortis so actually I
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miti thought about
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it by doing that what happens ultimately
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people will come eat talk and enjoy and
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go back but we should we should know how
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we should live marriage is not one day
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event it may one day event for the
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parents and others for us it's a
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commitment for lifelong so he said let
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us be very simple because we live simple
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way
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we should make our marriage in a very
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simple way 800 rupees we spent 800
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rupees for the marriage together 400 he
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paid a 400 i p my father was very upset
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because they wanted to make a grand
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wedding and I told no only my siblings
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and his siblings should come for the
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wedding then he said I can't do it in
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Hui because in hu culture if you eight
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people are called for the wedding people
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will think that I'm run away or a bride
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that kind of there's something wrong he
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said how can we perform in Hui he was a
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doctor and a professor so every person
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every other person in h either a patient
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or his student okay so he said I have so
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much people I mean we have lived there
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50 years I can't do with eight or 10
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people then mti's mother very nice lady
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she offered we'll do in Bangalore in the
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house so on my side there are five
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people or six people my parents plus we
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three sibling we are four children my
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aunt and my uncle who brought me up
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because my grandparents were not there
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and about 6 seven on my end and on Muti
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side his siblings that's
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it okay that's it and miti told me the
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choice is I'll give you 300 rupees you
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want to buy a Mangal Sutra or you want
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to buy a sari I said sari will not last
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long maybe Mangal Sutra will last long I
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said okay I will have Mangal sura in a
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thread not even in Gold okay that's it
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well you know we sorry no come here
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you know we had a lunch at the
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ragavendra Swami Temple walking distance
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from our home my mother used to live on
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uh 33rd cross 11th Main and very thin
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walking distance we had a rinda Swami
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Temple and we had lunch there the
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marriage itself was about half an hour
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and she had uh tuted the priest because
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she knows Sanskrit the priest didn't
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know Sanskrit as well as she did so she
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selected the various
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verses and then uh it was all over in
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half an hour then we went to the temple
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we had our lunch there and by about
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11:30 11:45 it started at 10:30 by about
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11:45 everything it was all done and and
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there was a special wedding gift that
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she gave gave you that was an account of
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all the money that she had spent on your
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dates which amounted to about
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4,200 rupees I was uh pretty good in
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that sense I kind of you know I made her
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pay for all of her dinner he started his
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own company did not have money before
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that you know I voluntarily took half
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the salary at the systems Research
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Institute where uh I Jo point after I
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came back from Paris I said look uh this
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is a startup and I want to uh make some
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sacrifice otherwise startups don't mean
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anything so I just took half the salary
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uh Professor Krishna was a little bit uh
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uncomfortable and surprised I said no
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don't worry I this is uh this fine so
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therefore I hardly had any money I would
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finish my money latest by 6 sth of a
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month and then I would sponge on
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her I I actually didn't know the the
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reason why you spell your surname as m r
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t y and you spell it as m r t h y was
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because you believe that Sanskrit
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version of Muti is most appropriate
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spelled m r t why because Sanskrit is
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the perfect language and because for
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every pronunciation there is a letter so
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when I said th y I said that is th and
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morti in Sanskrit
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is know Nar morti was morti this is a
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kind of name where you can you can
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visualize that Mor is a statue so it
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cannot be thy so in this one of the
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condition in marriage is I will not
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write my surname thy because against the
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S spelling and that is our origin
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actually and you not only her even her
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children all
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children
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our Muti and not miti yeah yeah exactly
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and you you had no issues with that no
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not really because uh you know I I was
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uh quite uh open-minded quite modern in
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these things therefore I said what is
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important is that uh we
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should uh start off with give and take
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wherever possible and we
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should agree to disagree without being
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disagreeable we should give space to
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each other so that both of us can
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operate uh uh freely and that our
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identity can uh be shaped so these were
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some of the ideas that we that I started
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with and then I said uh look
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whatever I've tried to do in life as a
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great follower of Mahatma Gandhi my
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belief is I should lead by example I
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have tried to lead by example in almost
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everything that I have done in life so
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therefore I said if I have to insist on
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T or th y I thought that was not the
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right
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thing
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I want to understand from you the day
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when you told Mr Muti that you should be
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part of infosis as well because you were
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part of the story from the very start
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you provided the seed Capital you in
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fact provided the very differentiating
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idea that INF should focus on the export
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Market as opposed to the domestic market
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and when you finally thought that this
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was an opportunity for you to be part of
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the company he said no and and that
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wasn't an easy one for you to accept no
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but one more important thing she was as
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qualified in most ways more qualified
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than all the six or seven of us that is
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also very important not that she was not
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qualified so therefore that's very
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important yeah so why did you say no
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then no again you know I had this uh
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feeling that good corporate governance
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means not bringing family into because
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those days it was only family Ru all
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kinds of children used to come and uh
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run the company there used to be a
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violation of all laws but later on Shin
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I must tell you this a few years ago I
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had a long discussion with a couple of
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professors of philosophy from uh two
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extremely well-known universities in the
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world and they said I was wrong you know
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you know they said Miss Muti you are
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wrong
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because as long as the other party has
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the Merit whether it's your wife your
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son your daughter as long as that person
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has the Merit as long as they go through
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the normal procedure you have no right
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to prevent that person from being part
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of the thing because you are then taking
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away some of your right that's why I
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don't know if you remember when we had
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the discussion I openly said I was wrong
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now I don't believe this I think what I
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was doing those days was wrong I
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was uh wrongly
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idealistic and in some way I think I was
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influenced a lot by the environment of
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those
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days so you paid the price for his
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idealism in a sense I I know you
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accepted the decision but I I don't
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believe you still agreed with it well U
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I always believe look in given set of
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circumstances what is the best way to
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react she think almost like Harvard
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University
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president I'm not a Harvard Professor
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anything I'm a very simp you could you
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could have been MIT you could have been
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MIT which you chose to to give up and
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move to
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Telco so I said no pleas hell bent upon
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that I should not come then he said you
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join and I will
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drop know suppose I joined I would have
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also worked very hard but go you know
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was the license Raj that time we have to
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sit in Delhi you have to sit in
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Washington see with two children how
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will I sit there for 3 months 6 months
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it was practically not possible right
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though if it's an office I can work day
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and night but going and sitting in Delhi
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he says okay and knowing miti suppose he
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takes a decision right or wrong he will
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he will stick to that that I knew that I
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knew once he takes that then he will has
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it has to be done now I can say okay I
00:16:10
will join then he will leave and he will
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not come and it will affect in
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forces now I have what choice I
00:16:17
have when I should take up a job and
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morti will be at home or he will take
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some other job infosis his dream or
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probably India's dream at that moment
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will will not come up now if I don't
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take job only I will be hurt but it is
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good for the family good for the
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children it is good for the company and
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good for morti so when there are four
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good and one negative and negative is
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about me and I will manage it so you
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eventually decided to step back accept
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the decision of not being a part of that
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is uh that's what uh brain said but
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heart did not accept it I said no I have
00:17:00
to work because I love technology I used
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to love technology and your own company
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you can work hard you can Fe that Joy is
00:17:09
different you know it is not money the
00:17:12
joy of working with your colleagues
00:17:14
making a product or service or it
00:17:16
something very nice and I always enjoyed
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that in Telo and that I had to give up
00:17:22
for everything there the price now that
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you acknowledge the fact that you were
00:17:26
wrong about uh someone with Merit who
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happen to be a family member coming back
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or being a part of emphasis today I mean
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if if your second child were to say that
00:17:36
I want to be part of emphasis what would
00:17:38
you say if Rohan were to say he wants to
00:17:40
be part of empasis he I think he's even
00:17:43
stricter than I am in these uh ideas we
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will never say that never never uh first
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of all I am just a shareholder of infas
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I have I have not being consulted on any
00:18:01
issue in empasis in the law since octob
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uh since August 4th or 5th 2017 when n
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took over not once it's the right thing
00:18:13
I mean he's doing uh uh the way we all
00:18:18
did okay so apart from
00:18:22
being the
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largest uh family shareholders of India
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inis we have nothing else to do with
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infosis that's the reality what would
00:18:34
you say has been your biggest regret
00:18:35
when you talk about uh disappointing or
00:18:40
not meeting expectations or letting
00:18:42
someone down what would you qualify as
00:18:44
your biggest regret today no I think I
00:18:48
have not been a great
00:18:50
father I could have been much better A
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lot
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better
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but thanks to suda that particular L was
00:19:02
uh uh filled
00:19:05
up I have been very tough with my
00:19:08
colleagues very very
00:19:10
tough without
00:19:13
exception but I have never done
00:19:18
anything with a with a desire to take
00:19:23
advantage of that situation with a
00:19:25
desire to benefit from those things
00:19:29
my whole emphasis was always even today
00:19:32
for example so many times I tell p you
00:19:35
know we had some Foreigner coming I told
00:19:39
P have you checked this have you checked
00:19:40
that have we checked that have we
00:19:41
checked that then he
00:19:45
just a little bit surprised he looked at
00:19:48
me I said I'm doing all this because I
00:19:50
don't want India to look
00:19:53
bad so in everything that I have done so
00:19:57
far
00:19:58
I to the best of my
00:20:01
ability I have tried to make India look
00:20:05
good to the best of my ability I tried
00:20:09
to make
00:20:10
emphasis
00:20:12
succeed I have try to be as generous as
00:20:18
possible
00:20:20
as to all my
00:20:23
colleagues but when it is a question
00:20:27
of Excellence when it a question of
00:20:30
doing what is necessary on time within
00:20:33
budget no I have I I have not I don't
00:20:37
you know because my bosses didn't give
00:20:38
me two they
00:20:42
were probably 10 times tougher than I
00:20:45
have ever been to any of my colleagues
00:20:47
or to my children or even to my wife but
00:20:51
that's the way I am so what is the the
00:20:53
advice that you've given akata and Rohan
00:20:56
uh you know from your own learnings from
00:20:59
your own experiences as well as from
00:21:01
your own mentors I mean JD Tata was was
00:21:04
a mentor to you and I know that you
00:21:06
follow his advice of giving back to
00:21:08
Society on the back of the success that
00:21:09
you have earned very seriously but what
00:21:12
is it that you would like to pass on to
00:21:15
uh to akata and to Rohan uh I told akata
00:21:18
and Rohan these
00:21:19
things akata I told we should always
00:21:22
live within our means you and your
00:21:26
husband together have whatever money you
00:21:27
make
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whether it's a good whether it's big
00:21:31
money or small money you have to live
00:21:33
within your means okay because we lived
00:21:37
always with I never ever spent more than
00:21:40
what I earned okay so that is so that
00:21:43
there will not be tension in life if
00:21:45
your income is 100 spend 80 60 70 don't
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cross that Rohan both of them the same
00:21:53
advice no different you know both of
00:21:55
them I told have good values in life you
00:21:59
know nothing remains with you like what
00:22:02
Buddha says whatever is there it
00:22:04
perishes in life but be good to others
00:22:08
and do your work the day you stop
00:22:10
learning you'll become old person are
00:22:13
you surprised by the blowback that this
00:22:14
70h hour week comment of yours has got
00:22:17
no I I rationalized it this way if
00:22:23
anybody that has performed much better
00:22:27
than me in their own field not necess in
00:22:29
my field I would respect I would call
00:22:33
them and I would say where do you think
00:22:36
I was wrong in saying this but I didn't
00:22:40
find lot of my Western friends lot of
00:22:44
nris lot of good people in India called
00:22:48
me and without exception they were all
00:22:52
very happy they all said whether it's 70
00:22:56
60 that's not the issue
00:22:58
the issue is that we have to work hard
00:23:01
in this country because the poor farmer
00:23:04
works very hard you know the poor
00:23:06
Factory workers worker works very hard
00:23:10
so therefore those of us who received
00:23:13
education at at a huge discount thanks
00:23:18
to the the the subsidy from the
00:23:22
government for all these educations to
00:23:24
in my case I got scholarship right from
00:23:27
my pruners national scholarship so I
00:23:30
said we owe it to the less fortunate
00:23:35
citizens of India to work extremely hard
00:23:39
so
00:23:41
therefore I uh whenever somebody who has
00:23:44
performed better than
00:23:46
me
00:23:47
uh comments on I will take it very
00:23:51
seriously but not otherwise no I come
00:23:55
from a doctor's family my father used to
00:23:57
work more than 70 hours a week my sister
00:23:59
is a doctor she also works more than 70
00:24:01
hours Mor has work 90 hours a week no
00:24:04
here we you know I I used to go 6 and
00:24:07
1/2 days even in electronic City I used
00:24:09
to work 6 and 1/2 days and every day I
00:24:12
would leave home at 6 a.m. in the
00:24:16
morning I would be in the office at
00:24:18
6:20 and I would leave by about 8:15
00:24:22
8:30 then only M would leave and then I
00:24:26
would be home by about
00:24:28
915 9:30 children would be ready we
00:24:31
would take them
00:24:33
to uh maast or one of those pizza joints
00:24:37
or something those days there were no
00:24:40
pizza heart and we would have a
00:24:42
wonderful time up to 11 11:30 so and I
00:24:47
used to do it for 6 days a week in about
00:24:50
14 uh 6 6 and 1/2 days 13 to 14 hours a
00:24:54
day 6 and 1/2 days a week I was M and
00:24:58
I've done it therefore one thing I have
00:25:01
followed and that whatever advice I have
00:25:05
given to others I think by and large I
00:25:09
have followed it I have not given uh
00:25:13
advice to people uh without having done
00:25:17
it
00:25:26
myself
00:25:29
[Music]
