Sujata Agrawal

Prof Kesav Vithal Nori, executive director and executive VP, TCS, and one of the pioneers of the company's computer-based adult literacy programme, voices his views on literacy, role models and learning from life

He's the man who trained a computer to be a teacher. Prof Kesav Vithal Nori, executive director and executive VP, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is deeply interested in programming languages and their processors, meta tools and derivation of tools for software processes, as well as in modelling, simulation and systems engineering as applied to enterprise systems.

One of the pioneers of the computer-based adult literacy programme of TCS that has been so successful all over India and even in South Africa, 61-year-old Nori was earlier with the Tata Research Development and Design Centre (TRDDC), the R&D wing of TCS, and is a former academic.

After completing his MTech from IIT Kanpur, he worked there as a senior research associate from 1968 to 1970 and then went on to become a research scientist at the Computer Group in the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), before returning to teach at IIT Kanpur. He went to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) at Pittsburgh in the US as a visiting faculty and then came TRDDC and TCS.

Learning from life
"My father always said that life is the best university," he says, explaining his move from academia to industry. "Overcoming challenges in real life tell you the true value of your academic knowledge."

"TCS is 75 times bigger now than when I joined TRDDC in 1983," says Nori. "I must confess that I came to TCS with a chip on my shoulder. I had great teachers and felt I had much to teach the practitioners in TCS. Instead," he continues, "I found that I lacked experience and the hard earned wisdom that comes from failures and successes while addressing real life problems. I also enjoyed finding solutions that made a difference to people."

At TRDDC Nori's focus was on increasing automation. "To me the machine is an adjunct," he says, "it increases people's productivity which helps in increasing the volume of business." Three years ago, he made a big switch to doing things which he thought were needed but for which he didn't necessarily have the right background.

Now, instead of research on technical problems, he looks for uses of IT to add value to customers' businesses. The biggest challenge for the IT industry, he feels, is to move from mere technical understanding to building know-how, so as to make a difference to real problems by using IT skills. "Technology is only a means to an end. The end is where the value lies," says Nori.

Literacy: The great equaliser
Around 1999, FC Kohli — the then director-in-charge of TCS — challenged TRDDC scientists to find a solution to adult illiteracy using computers. He believed that illiteracy was hampering India's development in the digital era.

"We worked with Prof PN Murthy on using computers to make literacy instructions easier," says Nori. The first experiment was with Telegu. At the first field-trial, the people were attracted by the idea of a 'TV talking', and the idea took off. The adult literacy programme (ALP) is now available in several Indian languages and has also been taken to South Africa.

"We have just started the second cycle of improving the technology," Nori says, admitting that it feels good that TCS has made a difference. "The programme taught us to make use of our core competencies in IT to address problems affecting people who are not a part of our business horizon. We need to have a greater empathy for such people. I would like to see us making a similar difference to children's education," he explains.

The ALP model, he feels, has great potential. "There is a relationship between the script and a sound to make new words," Nori says, pointing out that we need to do similar things for the next generation of educational software for children. "Companies like TCS are in business because of education and if we can strengthen the education system, we would have done our bit," he says passionately.

Role models
About people who have made a difference in his life, Nori cites the great JRD Tata. "The incredible thing about JRD was his energy; he really tried to understand your viewpoint," he says enthusiastically. "Early on in TRDDC, we met him for a presentation. He was especially concerned about using modern technology to find a solution to overpopulation and for diseases like TB. But he pointed out that we must remember that TRDDC is a commercial entity: 'Applied research means its being usable to make a difference to business,' he told us. I don't think I have ever heard a statement so simply put about the goals of research."

Vikram Sarabhai is another person Nori admired. "I once heard him at IIT Kanpur, where he spoke about research areas where we can try to make a difference. Few people have articulated their vision as clearly as him," he says.

His third role model is Group Chairman Ratan Tata. "Over the last 10 years he has brought about an enormous change in the Group; very quietly and without a fuss. It is incredible that someone can be so self effacing and yet so persistent in a quiet way."

He also regards FC Kohli as his mentor for applied research for the IT services industry.

Mentoring the young
Being an academician, Nori enjoys working with students. But it's very difficult, he feels, to explain new things to young people who nowadays think they know it all. The biggest challenge, he says, is making them see the challenge. "They believe that if they have a hammer, the world must be nails," he laughs. "The challenge is to show them that sometimes you just need a different tool."

The best part of life's journey, he believes, has been working with young people who are willing to experiment and learn. "Every problem has its own solution. There is no standard; you have to keep asking questions," he says, "but the pressures of business don't give you time to think, reflect and improve on things. You have to solve one problem quickly and move on to the next one." In contrast, academics — Nori says a little nostalgically — gives one all the time to sit back and reflect.

Paperchase
When he's not working on scientific papers, Nori enjoys taking a hand at another type of paper. "I enjoy origami; I find it very calming," he says. "Once you are busy with your fingers, all other thoughts drift into the background. I have taught it to my students and to colleagues."

He believes that origami, which he learnt at TIFR, is a lot like programming. With simple instructions, one can solve complex equations. By simple folds, a single piece of paper becomes a fantastic three-dimensional object — a bird, a flower, a vase, etc. "In programming, the pivot is the computer whereas in origami it is the folding of paper," he says.

Career graph
For Nori, it has been a long and interesting journey; teaching at IIT Kanpur, at TIFR and at CMU in the US, before coming back to join TRDDC and TCS, which have been his professional home since. Doesn't he sometimes miss the rather more tranquil environs of academia?

"Fortunately, in TCS I have always been able to work with academic institutions, and TCS encouraged it," Nori says. Being able to practise a subject teaches one a great deal more than pure academics, and makes one a much better teacher, he feels. "I am now trying to find out what I would like to move on to, as and when the time comes for me to move on. Teaching is an easy and attractive alternative. I have come to a stage where I need to think about it," he says.

Uploaded on March 14, 2007