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The Rediff Interview/ Dr Gururaj Deshpande

'There are lots of things money cannot buy'

His was the firm that Fortune magazine claimed would 'change the nature of the Internet.'

The company, Sycamore Networks, has made waves on Wall Street in recent times, making Gururaj Deshpande a billionaire in the bargain.

Sycamore is involved in the business of intelligent optical networking solutions for carriers and service providers.

Dr Deshpande had made his point earlier when he sold Cascade Communications, a start-up company he had founded, for $ 3.7 billion in 1997. Later, Lucent Technologies bought it for $ 21billion.

In an interview with Sheela Bhatt, the man widely assumed to be the richest Indian in America discusses matters of identity, the power of money and what really enthuses him.

What is it like to be an immigrant?

I have stopped feeling like an immigrant. I am Me. I am focused. I feel things intensely. For me, this moment is important.

At this moment I am not missing Boston. Just now I am talking to you. That's it. When I am vacationing in India I feel as comfortable here as I do in America. I'm living this particular moment. I get into the moment and things.

Things are not at all different for me. I am the same as I was when I left India as a student.

But there are millions of immigrants who feel uprooted. They go through a painful process of getting readjusted to an alien culture...

They are not engaged in a game they like. I am at home in America. I wash dishes, play with kids. I do normal things, like any American does. I don't carry my office home. Life is normal there. When I go to India, I play the Indian game! I like it.

Then can you call yourself an American?

Yeah, I'm American, whatever you mean by that.

And what do you attribute America's leading position to?

America has a tremendous ability to reinvent itself. Americans catch on the next best thing. Its achievements are due to this. Its treatment of immigrants has been as fair as any other country. America is very great as collective force. Systems work for the communities. It does dislocate some individuals, like it did the steel workers of Pittsburgh. Sometimes it gives individuals a hard time.

If there is a road accident, the system will immediately move in. The crash victims will be taken care of.

It's possible that there may be no one to visit the victim in the hospital. The impact of IT revolution on the human mind isn't yet clear. Wealth does buy you independence. But the emotional support system is not assured, like in India.

So?

That's the beauty of us, the immigrants. We enjoy best of both worlds. If you gauge both systems right, you are at an advantage. I can't say the same about second generation Indians.

Does the thought of having so much money affect you in any way?

Money is just another tool. When you are young, you tend to think that money can buy anything. But it doesn't. There are lots of things money cannot buy.

Like?

Time, other people's love. Those billions are just a tool. It's good only if you put it to good use. Some people think that because they have the money they can get away with anything. That's not true.

I want almost nothing that my money can help me get. Actually, I don't need much. My needs were met with before this money came.

Then what's the kick in being the billionaire and not mere a millionaire?

It's nice.

What else?

When I go to Sycamore in the morning and see my network growing and my people performing, that makes a difference. That's what gives me a kick.

You said you feel at home in India too. Can't you just stay back?

My kids might pull me away. They have been growing in America. Also, the professional opportunities there may lure me. It's really bigger.

When you are competing in the Olympics, it's different, and the street race is different. In the US, you have real, real hard competition. Compared to that, there is no competition in the Indian markets. One has to really fight hard to get market share in the US.

Does this money have an impact on your personal relationships?

Jayshree, my wife, is an accomplished personality. She is a graduate from IIT, Madras. She clearly sees her role. Money is power, but the question is, how are you going to use it?

Big money magnifies all the aspects of the personality. Now, if I misbehave, I can really damage things in a big way. Both of us are aware of this dimension of money.

My mother lives in Karnataka. It is hard for her to believe that Ravi (Dr Deshpande's nickname), her son, has made it this big.

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