If they can, why cant we?

I recently joined work with Infosys at their "Electronic City" campus. The campus today is arguably one of the most beautiful campuses in India. Most of the buildings are 3 floored, pale coloured, subtle and are located in a lush green campus interspersed with ponds and fountains. There are trees of various kinds and a variety of insect and bird species prop up from all places in the garden.

There are fishes in the ponds, sunbirds, kingfishers peeking at you from the tall bamboo trees, chameleons of all colors playing "spot me if you can" from behind the bushes. Sunset time especially is beautiful. The weather gets a little chill, the glare of the sunlight softens and one can hear the loud chatter and chirp of the Orange Crested Bulbul birds as they make their way back home.  Far away, in the tall trees I can see across the campus, the Asian male and female cuckoos peep up, flashing their blood red eyes at you. A little further down bats enjoy their evening flying without a care or hanging upside-down on one of the branches.

No. The campus is not in a jungle area. Much of the flora and fauna has been carefully planned and nurtured over the years. Much like the company itself. Infosys was founded in 1981 by the seven founder members team that had the courage to dream and the conviction to follow the dream. Back in 1981 it was started with a loaned $250 from Sudha Murthy, wife of Narayan Murthy. Today it generates $6.9 billion revenue, a $1.7 billion profit.

Everyday, as I walk through this campus, as I sit in the library trying to dig more into the Infosys story, I cant help but notice again that this is after all the dream of 7 Indians, who probably had a childhood and bringing up like mine. They however were dreamers. They followed the lesser-trodden path, explored the unknown, stood through the trials and challenges of an adventure long enough to taste success.

I stop reading. I look up for a while, feel the beautiful and mammoth space in the library and can’t help but think, "If they can, why cant we?"