Anand Mahindra, Prakash Padukone and Infosys co-founder gather at a Bengaluru cafe for a special day

Mahindra Group Chairperson Anand Mahindra, Infosys Co-Founder and ex-CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan, badminton icon Prakash Padukone and his wife Ujjala Padukone all were present at a ARAKU Coffee outlet in Bengaluru to celebrate its second anniversary. The image was shared by Manoj Kumar, CEO of Naandi Foundation.

Also present was Satish Reddy, the chairperson of Dr Reddy's Laboratories. Anand Mahindra, Kris Gopalakrishnan and Satish Reddy and Manoj Kumar are on the board of directors of Araku Global Holdings, the company runs the coffee outlets. Araku Coffee is cultivated in the Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh, located in the Eastern Ghats of India.

This coffee production is designed to make these farmer families self-sufficient and foster prosperity. “We are focused on making Araku a globally recognized luxury coffee brand, while helping improve the lives of people in the Araku valley,” Anand Mahindra said.



Anand Mahindra also tweeted that he visited Centre for Brain Research at the IISc Bangalore. The Centre for Brain Research was established as an autonomous, non-profit research organization in the Indian Institute of Science, with the gift from Kris Gopalakrishnan and Sudha Gopalakrishnan.

The Infosys co-founder also Gopalakrishnan has also provided funds for the construction of the building for use by CBR within IISc campus. The philanthropic gift by Dr. Gopalakrishnan is the largest support provided by an individual for scientific research in the history of India, according to Centre for Brain Research website.

"Quietly and with humility, Kris has become one of the biggest philanthropists in this country focusing on putting India on the cutting edge of research. (Here at the ‘wet lab’ where experiments are conducted to discover markers for diagnosis of dementia)," Mahindra tweeted and posted an image of Kris Gopalakrishnan and other members of the research lab.


A Twitter user asked Anand Mahindra that the Mahindra group chief could not be seen in the image. Mahindra's reply: "Behind the camera, where I belonged!"