THE SWEET `SATYA’
STORY
Satya – Nadella, a Hydberabad born Indian has been named CEO of
Microsoft yesterday. He is
·
* 46 years young
· * Did Bachelors in Electronic from Manipal
University, MCS from Univ of Wisconsin and MBA from Chicago Univ
·
* Joined Microsoft in 1992 and rose to the
position of CEO in less than 22 years
· * He says what he thinks and what he does is
shaped by his family and his overall life experience
· * Strangely, he says playing cricket has taught
him more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with him
throughout his career – it must be music for the ears to cricket crazy nation
like ours.
This is a proud moment for all Indians
and specially the Telugus
from Andhra, which can boast of an Engineering
college for
every Kilometer. In the
last 10 years we have seen many Indians
heading many US and European multi
nationals but this success is ultimate and will further boost the Indian IT success
story.
A technocrat and not a sales
or finance guy becoming the CEO should give a short in the arm to all
Engineers.
THE ANDHRA `IT STORY’
and
shorthand). That worked as the safety
net if they fail in further professional pursuits. Getting into banks/government job as a Steno or an Assistant was the easy and sure goal of majority of middle class youngsters and the ambition of their not so ambitious parents. If they were lucky to get into such jobs, they used to get good matrimonial matches because of stability factor and they used to set out on the great journey of `contended middle class family life’.
About 20 years back with the success
of IT companies, the entire face of education in Andhra and other Southern
states (other than Kerala) has undergone a dramatic change. There has been a mushroom growth of
Engineering colleges (one find an Engineering college in a radius of every
kilometer, even in small towns and villages of Andhra). 
As a result, many politicians,
industrialists, film stars, sports persons have started setting up Engineering
colleges as it is a sure shot money making venture. More than 60 to 70% of the students prefer
doing some Engineering course or the other– starting from B. Tech from IITs to
settling to anything from electrical to metallurgy or even ceramic from a
Private engineering college– what they want is to be called an Engineer. The other 20 to 25% of course choose
Medicine. 
Then the struggle to get into
a decent job starts like the case of erstwhile Steno-typist starts. Whatever may be the steam of engineering
one does, one need to take up short term course in Computer – software or hardware? With huge demand for trained (or ill
trained) IT professionals (who are termed as Cyber Coolis), by top IT companies
most of these Engineers started getting jobs in Bangalore, Hyderabad and
Chennai for a moderate salary of Rs. 3 to 5 lakhs per annum. I cannot comment whether such jobs are good or bad but what I am very sure is that any day they are better than becoming a steno or accounts assistant in a lalla’s manufacturing companies of 1970s or 1980s. Atleast they have good office, working environment, food and entertainment is provided and the lucky ones tend to get a boy/girl friend in the campus itself. After few years they are posted by their companies to US/Switzerland/Australia and for someone who studied in municipal schools or unknown private school that is the ultimate dream.
Depending on the profitability of the
project and duration of the project these youngsters have a great time in US,
enjoying the company of large number of youngster from their state, having fun
at work place and also continuing their good/bad habit of seeing a Telugu movie
every week (all Telugu movies release simultaneously in US too, and many of
them are becoming great hits in US despite their fate in Andhra). 
After
few years when they decide to get married, they get plenty of choices among
girls/boys trying to settle in US and they prefer such matches for professional
conveniences. Quite often the
American settled Andhra boys/girls meet the boy or girl in US itself, tell
their parents, who meet in Andhra and settle the match, the boy and girl come
along with relatives get married in Andhra and after the mandatory visit to
Tirupati goes back to US to settle. The fortunate story of ordinary Andhra boy making good in US does not end here but rubs on to their parents too. When the girl goes the Family way and since it is not affordable to have an aya/maid in US (and after Devayani episode it is quite scary too), then they all of a sudden start realizing their love for parents (specially mothers from both side) and that they are missing them.
From then start the great American journey of the old ladies from village to US with jars of pickles, Ghee and homemade stuff scaring the security personnel at US airports. For these simple middle class elderly people, who never stepped out of their own State, these `all expenses paid US trips’ are things even beyond their dreams. For next 5-6 years the parents of boy and girl take turns to go to US till the kids (normally two in number) are born and start going to school.
By that time the pump and pleasure of going to US turns into pain of 14-15 hours of sitting in the plane with joint pains and squeezing their heavy personalities in the tiny washroom and using western toilet after consuming homemade Andhra food and missing the company of old friends of same age group back in their village and the daily dose of gossip. But all these pains are worth for the youngsters and their supportive parents since it allows them to be on a perpetual ego boosting trip that they are in US and they keep filling their FB with photos taken in US and expect their neighbors in their town/village in Andhra turn green with envy.
Admist all these mediocre successes
there are many extremely successful stories of those doing B. Tech/M.Tech from
IITs, Management courses from IIMs, ISBs and Medicine from leading Medical colleges,
migrating to US and other European countries and making a huge mark. Before IT has become popular, lot of Indian
doctors scripted huge success stories in US and after making a fortune there,
came back and set up multy specialty 5 star hospitals.
Successful stories of someone
like Satya Nadella will be very inspirational to all these young girls and
boys. His graduating from Manipal
University and not from some fancy IIT or IIM should also inspire those who could
not make it to them and that is not the end of the world. The
efforts of Chandra Babu Noida who put Hydberad on the world IT map and many
successful IT companies of Andhra and other Southern states are laudable in
this hour of elation.
Jai Ho Indian IT Industry and Jai
Ho Satya Nadella
S. Prabhakar
5.2.14
