The monsoon has arrived a few days ahead of schedule in Bangalore and the flag on the practice putting green of the Infosys golf course is straining against blustery winds. From Nandan Nilekani's private dining room, the campus of India's premier information technology company looks more like a mid-sized university with a generous endowment fund than the engine of change in the global economy.

The "great explainer", as Nilekani has been dubbed by Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times columnist and author of The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, is recovering from a bug. His eyes are a little red and he looks as if he has been spending too much time shovelling e-mail. We have the option of eating in the canteen, but opt for a sterile corporate suite, where a table is laid for 12.