Don't chase money, says Narayana Murthy

BELGAUM, INDIA: In an effort to silence his critics who accuse him of being anti-Kannada, IT czar and the chief mentor of Infosys N.R. Narayana Murthy said on Friday that he always love to express his feelings in Kannada.

Inaugurating the second World Kannada Sammelana (convention) which began here on Friday, Murthy said: "I was born in Siddlaghatta of Kolar district, studied in Mysore and Kanpur, worked in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune and Paris. So I know many languages. Multiple languages help me in my profession. But I am always a Kannadiga at heart. We speak Kannada at home. Though I use English for my official communication, even now, I would like to express my emotions in Kannada."

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was a special guest.

Clad in a kurta and sporting the typical Belgaum headgear, Murthy spoke in Kannada and urged the young Kannadigas and the youth from other states residing in the state to work for excellence and not chase money alone.

"If you chase money, it will run away from you. Learn and love your work, be enterprising to achieve success, be entrepreneurs and create jobs. These will help eradicate poverty in the state and the country," he said.

A section of writers had opposed inviting Murthy for the inauguration. Apparently with this in mind, the Infosys founder said: "Wherever I am, I remain a Kannadiga. You too be like that."

"Wherever I am, however rich reception and treatment I get, I am really satisfied only when I come back to Bangalore and have our coffee," he told a gathering of over 50,000.

He was all praise for the qualities the Kannadigas are known. "We are by nature soft people, civilized, soft-spoken, not quarrelsome. That is why in northern part of the country, if one says engineers, they say 'Mysore engineers'," Murthy said.

Noting that Bangalore has become one of the best known cities in the world and the word "Bangalored" may soon be a part of the English language, Murthy said the prosperity must spread to the villages as well.

In his address, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said Belgaum "is and will remain an integral part of Karnataka".

"All people living in Karnataka, including those who speak different languages, are all emotionally Kannadigas. We must all strive to build and strengthen this spirit of oneness," he added.

Belgaum is claimed by Maharashtra as the town borders the state and has a large number of people speaking Marathi.

The first World Kannada Sammelana was held in Mysore in 1985. It was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.