Working with Uday was a great learning experience for me. It is not that I should write only great things about him just because everyone is reading this, but trust me great words is what I can remember of when I think of the most humble person I have come across in my career. He had abundance of patience when it was time for listening and he would address every concern that was put on the table with utmost importance and care.

He would think of a solution intelligently, meticulously and very practically in addressing the issue or situation that was put across. I can never forget how much he had encouraged me to pursue trainings and said I should go for what i had planned, for the benefit of my career.

Thanks to him with all my heart for the work life balance that I have today as he was the one who encouraged and enabled me to work in a convenient shift which was so well thought by him. He understood my personal challenges and offered to put me in a shift that enables me to tackle those challenges bravely.

I have taken a lot of learning from him on priorities, address challenges, patience, understanding, alertness to cropping issues and many more in the short stint we had with Uday but gained great learning in that short time. If the guru is right, it hardly takes time for a learning to take place!!

That was Uday Ponnapally for all.

I still cannot register your absence because I still follow your guidance every day. May your soul rest in peace and may your golden words reach my ears in time of my professional crisis. Thanks for the great support and teaching Uday. You are thoroughly missed...

....Girija Rao (Hilliard Team)

We attended Accenture interview and got selected on same day. I met you once again in Kakatiya University campus where we applied for convocation.  We joined Accenture on 01-OCT-2003 and soon became close friends, roommates and got in to same project. You were my team lead and elder brother though we don’t share our blood. You were part of my biggest career choices; I wouldn’t have got in to Hyperion world without your encouragement.  You had mentored me in several difficult situations.  I still remember your advice in one of the difficult and emotional situation, you said to me “Be matured and calm, your reaction always display the maturity level. It is very important that you control the emotions and don’t let your emotions control you.”

I still remember the events that shared with you, waking up early at 7:00 am, going to office , working late and returning home early morning next day,  Having late night dinner at empire and mogul hotels, watching movies at REX cinema, walking across Commercial Street and MG road, playing the cricket at home, riding the bike in Bangalore streets and commuting to work in single car at Hyderabad.  What a amazing memories…

I really had wonderful time with you, I am sorry; I couldn’t help you much by not being at Hyderabad when you were suffering with cancer.   I always remember your great support, encouragement and mentoring. Oh brother... I missed you forever physically but you are always with me emotionally… Nagaraju

I know him personally for about 9+ years. He was a serious person at office but very different person at home, he used be like an elderly brother to all of us. He used to interfere if there was any kind of fight between roommates. He was very professional at work and would defend his team members at any situation.

I first met Uday in Hotel Harsha Park Inn, Bangalore (Transit Stay during Accenture Onboarding). Myself, Uday, Naidu, Nagaraju Kondadi and Kumara Sundaram all 5 joined Accenture on same day (1-Oct-2003). All 5 had two things in common that was we all were from Microsoft technology background and came from Hyderabad. After induction program in Atria Hotel Bangalore, we all 5 decided to stay together and search for two bedroom house near to Bang 1 office (Cunningham Office). Uday & Kumar were the negotiators for the rent and we wanted to avoid the 10 months deposit and were ready to pay higher rent. Finally we got a duplex house with two bedrooms with 2.5 months deposit at Queen’s Road. We saw his negotiation skills in a new place with no knowledge of Kannada. All the effort of getting the house near to Bang 1 flopped after we came to know that we will be going to Diamond district Office (Old Airport Road, Domlur- Accenture Bench in 2003).  In Diamond District office we were told that Dell project will be interviewing all the Microsoft resources. The project didn’t get finalized and all four except Kumar were locked to Providian project.  I saw Uday’s career progress in this same project from SSE to Manager.

We used to always see him & Naidu leave early to office and the last one to come back home at around mid-night. Uday was work alcoholic and sometimes missed his dinner while working on some production issue. We all roommates felt sorry for Naidu since Uday was his supervisor and always had to leave office along with Uday most of the time and probably he is the one who is very close to Uday till the end.

I still cherish the moments when we all used to meet up at Hotel Empire for the dinner (Only Hotel after 11 PM IST) and Uday never missed his favorite Curd rice. During weekends we used to go to Commercial Street for the awesome idly & dosa and to Cantonment for lunch (full meals).The favorite hangout place for us initially during weekend was MG Road.

In 2007 there was a moment when 3 of 5 roommates (Myself, Uday & Naidu ) had a chance to be at Onsite (Pleasanton, California) for WAMU project. This is when we saw the culinary skills of Uday. He was an awesome cook which we didn’t know till we met in US. I always used to land up at Uday’s apartment during weekend to play cards game and also have the food prepared by Uday. Uday used to always order his favorite Mango Lassi whenever we used to go to his favorite Indian restaurant “Tabla” in Pleasanton.

Uday’s outdoor personality was known only during his stay in US. He was a good tennis & cricket player.

I cherished all the moments that we had during stay in US & Bangalore and also miss the elder brother affection. Rest In Peace – UDAY and we miss you a lot…. Sanoop Bhaskaran

When it came to number crunching, analysis and inference, Uday was the go-to person. He was a thorough researcher, who thought in all different angles before coming to a conclusion. A good listener and debater, left a lasting impression with the points he brought onto the table. He was a go getter who not only planned methodically, but perfectly executed the actions to achieve the desired outcomes.

Any new initiatives that had to be started, when most of us are raking our brains to understand, Uday always had a perspective or background and guided with his inputs making the problem much simpler than what it looked. He had this uncanny ability to dig from history or his contacts and come up with a variety of options.

He had humility and pride in equal measure and never let go that attitude even when he knew his days were numbered. I have learnt a lot from him and I believe I'll be carrying a part of Uday in me by the work that I'm going to do in the years to come. .... Vinod Vikram

Uday was our former STARD Team manager. Sometimes I used to travel along with him in his car to office/home. He has suggested me a lot of career development. One funny incident with him i.e. after we finished our dance performance in Oktoberfest he asked me in Telugu “ Dance chesina anta easy kadu ee bottle muta open cheyadam “ (it’s not so easy to open the bottle cap like you did the dance) and I opened the bottle cap also. He was such a kind and helpful person for anyone. Really we miss him a lot. – Venkatesh Neeli

“I remember our first meeting with Uday in a conference room when he took over responsibility as an AO Optimization expert. When we entered room, we were under impression that we optimized everything, what else he can do more? But he clearly bowled me with his questions and analysis he was already having with him with scope of Optimization. I finally left that room with To-dos on my side. I liked his way of Driving Things and approach of tackling such situations.” He demonstrated same level of energy and strength to fight till his last moment. Words are not enough to remember him he simply fetched his place by motivating us/showing us how to stand still in tough times. At last I would like to say, “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” And Uday will always live in our Hearts. ....Arpit Ashar

Uday has been source of inspiration to many resources. He is a true mentor and was very helpful and optimistic. He paid special attention and helped the team in clearing the operational issues in BMW SAO. ATLAS team had close association with him and he was instrumental in setting up methodologies that worked well for Client while we initially took over ATLAS PL.  On behalf of ATLAS team, I extend my heartfelt condolences and pray GOD to provide solace to the departed soul and give courage to his family. ...Raj Gurugubelli

“Uday – You lived like a true leader all along, my interaction with you right from AO optimization through the journey till application operations will be remembered forever. Your passion to work, challenge to get the best and unbiased decision making is commendable. I have personally and professionally learned a lot from you. It’s extremely sad to hear the news and I pray god to give the strength to your family to sail through the toughest times. Raju Ivaturi

“Uday- You were a great fighter in real life. If we need to look someone for some inspiration, then you are the one. The dedication and promise you showed even in the last days was commendable and the smile on the face (even though you were deteriorating from inside) always brought out the positiveness in you, which I really admire. I simply Salute you for this and the fight which you took on with the illness, which will always inspire us that “Nothing is impossible in this world”….Swadesh Mohanty

I have known Uday for close to 5 years now and I still remember him from my initial days of interaction. He was full of energy and a person who can drive through his agenda.. During his ill fate days I have noticed his old colleagues (dating back to 10 years) stepping forward to support/meet him, that shows how good a leader and a friend he was. All I want to say is   “  Uday - We may not understand why you left this earth so soon, or why you left before we were ready to say good-bye, but little by little, we begin to remember not just that you passed away, but that you lived and that your life gave us memories too beautiful to forget."... Deepak Annamraju

I was fortunate enough to work closely with Uday for almost a year. Uday was given a role to stabilize a most complex and troublesome area of the engagement that span multiple time zones. Despite knowing the challenges of the project and his personal constraints, Uday took up the role and did a great job in stabilizing the whole area in a very short time. He has ensured that his non-availability on certain times was not a constraint that will hinder the project. I was touched when he has taken permission from the doctors in the hospital and came to office to represent his team in a meeting. I have never seen anyone in my career who has such a commitment for the team he represented. His thought leadership will certainly be missed. A golden heart has stopped beating and hardworking hands are at rest. ....Premnath Kamana

It’s not very often that you come across an individual who is a smart thinker, is great operationally, excellent at people development and on top of all that, down-to-earth. Uday was all of that and more!

His entry into the BMW SAO world was at a time when we were looking for help. And help he did – by giving a perspective to everyone on what’s possible in “AM Optimization”. No wonder, all the old timers in SAO still fondly remember him by that term. While his thought process was evident for everyone to see, what struck me most was his ability to handle a fairly confrontational topic in a logical manner and giving it a tactical spin – and man, he was persuasive. He almost always got what he wanted!

He belonged to a core group within SAO leadership team – a group that I was always turn to whenever I need classic “out of the box” thinking. He was constructive, always took discussions forward and usually provided a pragmatic approach. I enjoyed a great personal rapport with him and bounced many of my potential decisions with him. Always trusted his judgment and miss that immensely now..

Boy! We miss him so much and words really can’t express those feelings. .. Suresh Nanduru

Uday,

We gave Accenture interview (7th Sep 2003) on same the day, same venue; getting into Accenture on the same day (1st Oct 2003); getting into Accenture accommodation in same Hotel; getting into Bangalore room together; getting into ITP in diamond district; getting into same project in Bang2; started supporting same applications; sharing the same room in Bangalore and US;

You were my first Lead in Accenture and you were my Last Lead (when you breathed last).

I still remember the days when we used to catch morning 07:45 AM shuttle at Shivaji Nagar, India express circle, Having breakfast at Adigas near bannergatta road, attending US KT calls early in the morning; staying late hours in the evening in office; attending late night calls catching up with US counterparts; troubleshooting productions issues in odd hours and weekends; Walking down the lanes of MG Road, Bridge Road, Shivajinagar, commercial street; Catching up with the latest movies in REX theater; Having our midnight dinners at empire hotel, with your favorite Mango Lassi which you never got to perfection (always making a point to waiter); our long drives in Bangalore and US; Our Friday night cards, losing and winning dollars; our cricket practice representing Titans in San Roman club; our cooking experience, Jadu and myself were your official cook for almost 1 year; I know you didn’t like my cooking however can’t help it as you were busy occupied with meetings.

Being roommates and project mates for more than 6-7 years in Bangalore and then in US, I still remember you holding on to late night meetings, missing your dinners, lunches and breakfast. Ignoring personal and family life completely, dedicating time to work.

Probably I have spent more time with you than with my own family in this last 10 years at Accenture.

We really had a great time last 10 years, probably not so in last 2 years when you were battling with cancer. Sorry I couldn’t do much in your last days.

Not sure why you left so early, May be GOD has some better plans for you, as you stretched so much at work.