Bikram Dasgupta does what he loves doing and is good at. He provides cutting-edge solutions in organisational business processes through software development. And he is also into high-end career education for youngsters. Dasgupta — a first-generation IT entrepreneur who kick-started the IT revolution in India — clearly wants to groom others like him.

BDG — as he is known in professional circles — has been in the wars. He knows what it takes to be a success. “A great company creates addiction,” he says. “Take Google. It has all of us hooked; today it is difficult to single out a person without a Gmail account. That’s the difference between a good and a great company.” It is an example Dasgupta would like to emulate. In a much smaller way and in a much smaller environment, he has perhaps achieved it with Infinity Towers, Calcutta’s first IT park.

Dasgupta was born and brought up in a typical middle-class Bengali family. From his early days he wanted to do something offbeat, something that would evoke respect and admiration. “Upbringing plays a major role in a person’s development,” he says. “I studied in eight different schools in eight different locations before completing my Higher Secondary from A-Zone Multipurpose Boys High School, Durgapur.”

But before you think he was school-hopping because he wasn’t up to the required academic standards, he explains: “My father had a transferable job. So my upbringing was very cosmopolitan.”

The years that he spent at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, played a vital role in shaping both his thought process and personality. “IIT wasn’t only about excelling in one’s career but also about shaping one’s individuality,” says Dasgupta. “At IIT, one’s life is regulated. You are expected to be organised and disciplined. That is what helped me.”

Today Dasgupta is chairman and CEO of Globsyn Technologies, which has an annual turnover of about Rs 40 crore. Globsyn specialises in education and training, software and infrastructure building.

While there seems to be a sharp focus in Dasgupta’s life today, it wasn’t always so. In his school and college days, IT wasn’t really on his horizon. Things started falling in place only after he started working.

Dasgupta began his career with HCL in 1979, as part of the marketing and business development team. By 1984, he had become country manager (market development). In 1984, he co-founded Pertech Computers Ltd (PCL). In its heyday, PCL was the largest player in the Indian personal computer market. But it came a cropper because of its ambitious marketing schemes and efforts to become a price warrior. In 1995, Dasgupta set up Globsyn, after breaking away from PCL founder, the late Dadan Bhai.

Globsyn is far removed from the rough and tumble of PCL. “The burning desire to watch a large number of software professionals in a particular hub utilise their energy to mark the dawn of the IT revolution in India made me conceptualise Infinity Tower,” says Dasgupta. “This energy, if left unfocussed, would dissipate. It is best to channel the energy of our youth.”

Dasgupta has now moved into mentor mode. A charismatic and articulate speaker, he regularly delivers lectures at various national and international forums. He has also written Minds on Fire: An Infotech Entrepreneur’s Journey. On a less serious note, Dasgupta is a founder-member of BAIT (the Beer-drinkers Association of Information Technology), a take-off on industry body MAIT (the Manufacturers’ Association of Information Technology).

When not working, one can find Dasgupta in some isolated location in search of his inner self. He believes that self-analysis is vital for success; it helps to identify one’s mistakes.

“When I began my career, I never knew what I would be achieving,” says Dasgupta. “I guess an element of naiveté has helped me reach where I am.” A restless person by nature, he believes that one has to perform to get recognition. And to be able to perform, one has to be at ease with oneself; inner conflict leads to disharmony. Life’s battles must first be fought internally.

Based on a conversation with Shabina Akhtar in Calcutta