Akshata Murty, the UK's First Lady and daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, had once referred to her father as 'bonus dad', writes author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni in her new book - 'An Uncommon Love: The Early Life of Sudha and Narayana Murthy'. Murthy, who founded Infosys in 1981, spent more time at the office and on business tours than at home.
"Akshata once said that her grandfather was her 'real dad' while her father was a 'bonus dad', someone who appeared at frequent moments and tried to make up for his absence with fun activities," writes Divakaruni, who is also a Professor of Writing at the University of Houston.
Murthy had to often travel outside India to meet clients and when that happened, his absence was felt more deeply by the children, she adds. "Akshata would help him (Murthy) pack his bags for these foreign trips. She used to do this when she was a toddler. But sometimes, after they finished packing, she would have tears in her eyes."
The author further says that throughout their childhood, Infosys loomed as a dominant and irksome presence in the lives of Akshata and Rohan Murty, the son of Murthy. It seemed to the children, she writes, that Infosys was the third sibling, the baby who never grew up and required constant attention.
"Even when they (Akshata and Rohan) were little, before they understood exactly what the word really meant, Sudha would often tell the children that they had to make sacrifices 'for the sake of Infosys'," writes Divakaruni.
In October last year, when Narayana Murthy sparked a debate by saying that youngsters should work for 70 hours a week, Sudha Murty said he himself had worked for 80-90 hours a week and that he believed in real hard work. "He has worked 80 to 90 hours a week, so he doesn't know what less than that is. He believes in real hard work and he lived like that. Hence, he has told what he felt," Murty told News18.