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Som's name always brings back memories of 1990 when Wipro asked me to go off to the US and seed the beginning of its US operations for its R&D. Som Das was in the IAS, assigned to the Maharashtra cadre.

While serving there, he had ideological differences with his political bosses. Som quit the IAS and went off to pursue MBA at Stanford. After completing his study, he joined VLSI Technology, a semiconductor company in San Jose and when I met him for the first time, he was Director of Worldwide Strategy. Despite his disappointment in the bureaucracy, Som had a phenomenal commitment to India, deeply believed in her capabilities to contribute to global high tech and was an active supporter of anyone who came to the Valley trying to set up any high tech venture. Som was a founder of the Silicon Valley Indian Professionalsl Association (SIPA).

When I moved out of Wipro GE Medical Systems to accept the challenge of repositioning Wipro's R&D and came to the Valley, a very senior executive had dissuaded me. Knowing the restrictive trade environment, he had said, "Why do you want to give up Wipro GE and pitch a tent in a desert?" With not enough money to start a proper office, I actually ran Wipro's office from my dining table and literally, the sparsely furnished apartment was my tent in the desert.

One day, Som Das learnt about me from somewhere and gave me a call. He said, let's meet. My standard ploy was to do meetings in restaurants to save the dining table from exposure.

The only time he could meet was after 9 PM and did not want the formality of meeting in a restaurant. To my horror, he suggested we meet at my apartment as it was on his way to his Palo Alto home. I gave in. The agenda? Som wanted to know more about Wipro and how he could help. The meeting lasted 3 hours. When Som left at midnight, my wife and I were amazed at the commitment. This meeting led to several doors opening and a lifetime of friendship.

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Subroto Bagchi is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer for MindTree Consulting (P) Ltd. The "Making of the MindTree" is told in the first person by Subroto Bagchi. In condensed form, it was published by Business World, filmed by InfiniTV, and aired on CNBC, IT Hour. Websites: www.mindtree.com & www.mindtree.com/subrotobagchi