Depending on how you want to look at it, the tag of the world's richest Indian sits heavily or lightly on Azim Hasham Premji, the CEO of Wipro Corporation. Heavily, because he feels it a burden and like "an animal in a zoo," and lightly, because he feels untouched by the whole thing. Premji's most oft-quoted line is, "We concentrate on doing our jobs.''

This legendary person's lifestyle is legendary in its simplicity. It is common knowledge that he shuns anything that even remotely borders on the ostentatious. He prefers traveling economy class, avoids staying in five star hotels, and yes! he can be labeled a true-blue Indian - he prefers clothes, watches and cars that are made in India. You don't need a more vivid picture of the man, do you?

Premji would rather talk about his corporation and the Indian business scenario than about his personal wealth. He very strongly advocates the use of IT at all levels of society.

At an international conference in Bangalore recently, he said: "Though IT is on its way to become the largest export earner for India, I think its contribution is more fundamental. It has transformed our international image from being a land of "snake charmers" to a land of leaders in Information Technology. Our IT engineers have earned this respect not only in the US, which was the first to spot Indian talent, but in many other countries as well who have opened their doors wide to them. Many successful entrepreneurs in IT all over the world are Indians. This is also an historic opportunity for India to reclaim its earlier glory. In an age where the power of the mind offers a phenomenal new global competitive advantage, we are poised like never before to lead the way."

Premji continued, "We must recognize, however, that there are challenges to surmount. If we have to succeed as a nation, industry alone cannot do it. We need a shared Vision that will ignite the imagination of all the partners - the Industry, the Government and the Educational Institutions. The Industry will have to bring in the entrepreneurial spirit, the Government will have to contribute the appropriate infrastructure and legal support and the Educational Institutions must build the talent base."

For the man to have reached this stage, his beginnings were very simple. He was forced to leave his studies in Stanford at the age of 21 to take over the family business of vegetable oils when his father suddenly passed away in 1966. He has since completed his degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Originally called Western India Vegetable Products, the company then diversified to making vanaspati, later bakery fats, ethnic ingredient based toiletries, hair care soaps, baby toiletries, lighting products and hydraulic cylinders. The shift from soaps to software has been very focused. Now Wipro has rocketed from a market capitalization of just over $2 million when Premji took over to its present status of $13 billion in June 2000.

For Premji, no matter how high the company is or where his personal wealth is headed, there are certain things which will never change. Like setting high standards, and practicing them, remaining focused and always willing to learn. A combination that has taken him to where he is today.

There are other legendary attributes to this legendary man. Integrity is a great value with him and he is known to be a stickler for it. A little gentle prodding and he will probably recount the tale of how the company had to wait for 18 months to get a substation for the vanaspati unit because Wipro refused to bribe the concerned people. It was run on captive generation for nearly 20 months and cost the company dearly, but Premji preferred that to breaking his values. This is a clear indication of Premji's eminence as a no-nonsense man.

He also makes it a point to deal directly with customers as much as possible. He heads a very loyal team and together he and his employees practice the values Wipro has articulated - Human Values, Integrity, Innovative Solutions and Values for Money.

But, despite all the brouhaha created by his rapidly rising fortune, Premji is a person who has a very sane head on his shoulders. He has no illusions that investment in training and research will continue to keep Wipro in the forefront of performance.

Well, to a person like this what can we say except "Hats off" and very best wishes for making India proud by "Applying Thought."