The principles he grew up by have been the guiding light to professional achievement for Pauroos Karkaria, the chief financial officer and executive director of Tata Infotech

With its roomy corridors and wood-panelled environs, Pauroos Karkaria's office at Prabhadevi in mid-town Mumbai offers an old-world take on the workplace. It seems somehow to reflect the age-old values that the chief financial officer of Tata Infotech holds dear: sincerity, integrity and fortitude. The office is being readied for a makeover, but Mr Karkaria's personal qualities will not be in need of any refurbishment.

Mr Karkaria grew up in Jabalpur. His parents moved there from Navsari so they could run a guesthouse and a fire temple. Both were located in a sprawling estate that also had a palatial bungalow, a big garden and a well that never ran dry even in the fiercest of summers. Jabalpur was, at the time, an important railway junction and it also had an army base and a few defence factories.

"It was, like many small cities of India, not very commercially developed, with an infrastructure that needed plenty of improvement," says Mr Karkaria. "We could not afford cycle rickshaws so we walked the two miles or so to school. Since the electricity supply was erratic, we studied for many of our school and college exams in the light of kerosene lamps."

The minor hardships aside, Mr Karkaria has fond memories, especially of his family huddling around an earthen fireplace for morning breakfasts. This is also where the children studied, were taught to be good citizens and to be kind and generous to others. "In the winter it was a pleasure being in the kitchen, with the warmth of the fire logs keeping us snug," he says. "But summer was pure hell. God alone knows how our mother managed to stay in that kitchen almost the whole day and cook for us and for many guests too."

There was not much money to go around, but what the Karkarias had in abundance was hope, tolerance, compassion, humility and a firm belief that they should fulfil their responsibilities with sincerity of purpose and in a fair and honest manner. They were taught not to expect a reward for their toil. "Even though the family had been through trials and tribulations, not once did we bemoan our fate. Instead, it guided us to always look at the brighter side of life. Since we had no radio, us kids would troop to our neighbour's house on select days to hear 'Hit Parade' on All India Radio. When we asked for a radio, our father gently reminded us that we could do without such luxuries. He was a simple man, not concerned about material trappings or comforts."

For recreation Mr Karkaria would accompany the travelling salesmen from Hindustan Lever and Tomco who stayed at the guesthouse to nearby rural districts. Their sales skills awed the lad. "They would screen these short ad films on Dalda, Sunlight and Hamam; that was my first taste of an open-air theatre. I'd observe villagers in different situations (that's where I learned to gauge people). I also became something of a homegrown mimic."

Mr Karkaria arrived in Mumbai in 1974 after finishing college. He took up a job with a shipping company, an experience he now terms heady but daunting. "All my life I was in a small town and then suddenly I was living in the commercial capital of India, dealing with captains, engineers and sailors who had been around the world. The buzz in Mumbai was very different from the quiet life I was used to."

But Mr Karkaria was a quick learner. In a short span he was dealing with overseas companies, handling foreign currency, and learning about accounting and transactions, voyage accounts of ships, insurance, taxation and finance. The company had an open seating plan, with only two seniors — the managing director and the finance and secretarial head — in cabins. All the other employees, including captains and chief engineers, were out in the open office. "Discussions were frank and free, sometimes too free," he recalls. "It would embarrass me, and some of my colleagues as well, to watch a captain or chief engineer of a ship being castigated in front of everyone."

Mr Karkaria joined Tata Sons in 1977. "The trust and confidence that the name Tata inspires made my move that much easier," he says. Today, after 27 years with the Group, he continues to be dazzled by all things Tata. "When you travel across the length and breadth of the country you realise the importance of this name. There is respect and the feeling that you will deal fairly and be dealt with fairly. In our numerous discussions with customers worldwide, we mention this trust factor."

Finance, taxation and accounting are what Mr Karkaria does best, and for him knowing his discipline has been a learning experience, what with the constant changes happening around the world in every sphere of his chosen field: the challenges in structuring a deal, overcoming contractual or commercial hurdles, negotiating with customers, and finding innovative solutions to tax issues within the parameters of the law.

Helping Mr Karkaria keep his batteries charged is the role he plays in "guiding and motivating colleagues to give their best, setting direction and interacting with customers". What irritates him the most is professional disdain and sloppiness of work. "It may sound rather simple, but I don't like carelessness and lack of thoroughness in work," he says. "I believe there is a strong link between the quality of work one does and the quality of one's character."

Also read in Tata Voices

	Chetan Tolia, Koushik Chatterjee and T. V. Narendran, three top-notch achievers from Tata Steel, recall their voyage of discovery in a company that offers its people the world, and then some
	Bhaskar Bhat, the managing director of Titan, says that a leader has to be a blend of manager and visionary
	Sunil Sinha, the chief operating officer of Tata Quality Management Systems, on the le adership imperatives for companies facing today's multiple challenges

Uploaded on May 30, 2005