Osmosis 2006 Inauguration

Osmosis, the much-awaited annual learning event of MindTree Consulting was inaugurated at the West Campus on Thursday, 14th Dec. About 500 Minds came together and helped to execute the event.

Dr. U. R. Ananthamurthy, eminent litterateur and Jnanapith award winner formally inaugurated the event by lighting the traditional lamp. Mr. Ashok Soota welcomed the chief guests for the event, Mr. Raj Rawal, CIO of Burger King and Dr. Ananthamurthy.

In his welcome address, Ashok said that it was really an exciting day for MindTree Minds. He said, “Osmosis is not just a celebration, but a day of learning and sharing.” He viewed Osmosis as the showcase of MindTree’s competitiveness and also a day of achievement and joy. Above all, it is a day of high energy. “Osmosis is not only about learning, but also about celebrating the technology developed by MindTree,” he added. He said MindTree was focused on building intellectual property in technologies like Bluetooth and its work has impacted the business processes of many a global corporation.

Ashok thanked the contributors, sponsors, volunteers and all MindTree Minds and specially mentioned Subroto and his team for organizing the event.

In his inaugural speech, Dr. Ananthamurthy explained the connection between earning for a living and gaining knowledge. He added that India’s youth needed to be alert and be open-minded. He stated that India would not be able to reform unless it respected the creation of wealth. While creating wealth was important, spending it ethically was even more. He added, “When you get enough wealth, you grow with a total Vairagya (detachment).”

He also focused on some core issues that influenced great thinkers, philosophers, freedom fighters and eminent personalities of 20th century, including Mahatma Gandhi, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Martin Luther King.

He said that the 20th century was fired by three hungers – hunger for equality, hunger for modernity and hunger for spirituality. Gandhi, Martin Luther King and many others had pledged their lives to fight for the equality and cause of society. He said populism defeats the hunger for equality. While the hunger for equality checks unpleasant issues and unpopular decisions, populism makes use of hunger for equality and produces bad politics around the world.

Tracing the history of how modernity began to influence people from the time of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, he pointed out that hunger for modernity would lead to mindless and blind globalization where one could destroy the inner-self, culture, tradition and food habits.

Expressing concern over the growing modernity, he said “Modernization should not destroy our rich cultural heritage, civilization and natural beauty of the landscape.”



Mr. Raj Rawal, CIO of Burger King and chief guest, spoke about the concept of the ‘LAP of Success’ and the secret behind Burger King’s success with MindTree.

Considering his father as his role model and hero, he said that success can be perceived in different ways by different people. For some, success means money; for some, it means prestige; for some, it means earning respect, and for others, it is freedom.

Listing out the genuine factors and core principles to be followed to achieve success, he described what ‘LAP of Success’ meant. L stood for Leadership, A for Attitude and P for Performance.

He said that leadership includes three important factors – Passion, Initiative and Integrity. A person can become a successful leader if he grows with these qualities. He narrated the story of how integrity helped him strengthen bonds with MindTree when Avis (Raj Rawal was at that time the CIO of Cendant Car Rental Group, which include Avis and Budget brands) was on the verge of canceling the contract.

He said flexibility, an open mind to listen to others and being appreciative are the key attributes of a positive attitude. Positive attitude and appreciation can make the things better even in tough situations. Referring to performance, he said that performance translated to results. Hard work, understanding business value and communication skills are some of important sub-elements of performance. The event continued through the day with a lot of excitement and information exchange.