Cricket hero Anil Kumble at Infosys
By Neha Bajaj

Indian tech powerhouse Infosys held its 13th Annual Awards for Excellence 2008 ceremony this week.  Being an international company, the ceremony was held across 12 locations.  The Annual Awards for Excellence is the biggest event in the Infosys calendar to recognize the achievements of Infoscions.  Indian cricket super hero Anil Kumble graced the occasion as well.

This year the event was held across nine Development Centers in India (Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Mysore, Pune & Trivandrum), two in the US (New Jersey & Plano) and one in the UK (Canary Wharf). This special occasion was graced by Anil Kumble, former Indian test cricket captain, while well-known RJ-turned-television anchor Vasanthi Hariprakash was the MC for the ceremony in Bangalore. Selected MCs across locations hosted the ceremony in sync with the MCs in Bangalore.
 
Anil Kumble addressed the gathering after the awards ceremony was completed. While everyone knows him for all his achievements on the field, he gave the audience a rare glimpse of his personality “off the field”. His passionate address — laced with humor and interspersed with personal experiences — won the heart of all the Infoscions gathered for the ceremony. Anil spoke about sustaining success against all odds and gave many examples from his personal life and career. There was also a Q&A session where Anil answered queries put forth by Infoscions. The session ended with him describing his feelings when he got his historic 10-wicket haul in 1999.
 
Infosys CEO and MD Kris Gopalakrishnan and Co-Chairman Nandan Nilekani also addressed the audience. A special message from Chairman and Chief Mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy, who could not be present in person, was also aired during the event. K Dinesh, Director and Head – IS, Quality & Productivity, and CDG, gave the vote of thanks.
 
The wonderful night ended with Infoscions dancing to the tunes of DJ Sasha!