March 24, 2000 — Hyderabad, India

Among the captains of the information technology industry and international celebrities who were on hand to meet visiting US President Bill Clinton at Hyderabad's Hi-Tech City, was 19 year old Chetan K.S., - a cerebral palsied student of the Spastic Society of Karnataka who became nationally known last year after designing the visual identity of MindTree Consulting.

Chetan was among a group of students from the Spastic Society of Karnataka that was given the unusual assignment to translate MindTree Consulting's brief of Action, Imagination and Joy into a visual identity for the international IT consulting start up. Chetan, a severely autistic student, designed the celebrated logo in which a blue skyward stroke suggests "Imagination," the red backdrop suggests "Action," and yellow dots around it symbolize "bubbles of Joy."

When Chetan was six months old, his parents realized that he was affected by cerebral palsy. It is a condition that traps a perfectly normal mind in a disobedient body and can severely affect speech and motor coordination. But thanks to determined efforts by Chetan's family and the dedication of the teacher's at a school run by the Spastic Society of Karnataka, Chetan today is a student appearing at his tenth standard examination. He is an avid computer buff, who even learnt Visual Basic on his own. Since children with cerebral palsy have difficulty typing on a keyboard, Chetan devised a mouse based "phrased keyboard"- on which such children can construct sentences. He takes a keen interest in international affairs, is an admirer of President Bill Clinton, and hopes to run his own business one day.

When MindTree Consulting was invited to participate in the CII-led (www.ciionline.org) in honor of the US President's visit to Hyderabad, it made a special request that Chetan be allowed to meet the President. Clearing the request, the White House made way for the President to meet the young designer. Mr. Clinton received a yellow rose from Chetan and shook hands with him. He expressed deep satisfaction with Chetan's work and wished him the very best.

Later, talking to the media with the help of an intermediary, Chetan said, "Meeting with Mr. Bill Clinton has been the most beautiful moment of my life. It will inspire me to do many big things in the future". Speaking on the occasion, MindTree Consulting's Chairman & CEO Ashok Soota said, "The event will bring hope to many people whose life is a continuing story of over coming constraints. It also endorses our view that sustainable business success in the the future must be combined with a corporation's social commitment. At MindTree Consulting, we are committed to build a company with a social conscience."

MindTree Consulting is an international company, which delivers technologies and e-Business solutions with our clients by providing a combination of world-class experience, customer-centric processes, best practices, and technical expertise. Our experience, coupled with world-class methodologies, allow us to bring speed, high quality and lower total cost of ownership to our clients. MindTree has development centers in Bangalore, New Jersey and California. Visit our website at www.mindtree.com