NCIS

Today we said goodbye to three of our very important colleagues. Paresh, Parul and Prabu. We wish you all the very best and hope you find joy and happiness in all your endevours.

“And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving. Work is love made visible” – kahlil Gibran.

See you again soon!

Let me just begin by telling you what we believe a brand not to be.

Branding is not – the logo, the marketing, the mementos. Does that surprise you?

Historically branding was done to show a sense of ownership and that is what we have clearly understood – Who owns?

Branding is developing a sense of belonging. Think about it…if you didn’t think you could use something, would it be a brand?

An organization’s branding is of no use, unless it is recognized as useful to those it markets its products or services to.

We have understood brand to be quality work, creativity and usefulness. The solution to developing your brand is simple – have you been useful lately? If you can answer this question, you have your branding. This simple and human question is what makes your brand inclusive, something you need because you want to reach out.

Don’t fret about colors and how many items you can produce as part of the branding. Your organizations branding is not the same as your personal choice in color, or what have you. Think about your organizations work, what distinctive set of values and principles it has and what passion defines and drives it.
So, before you make use of any service, we urge you to think about this and understand your passion, your values and your actions better to design your brand.

by Surkhraj

The workflow team as they are popularly known are members of different departments at New Concept who are being trained in the art of project management specific to ICT projects. Here we see them all writing their first test as a team. We are proud to announce that all members scored very well in the test, each scored 70% and above with many scoring 99.99%!

The communications team at New Concept has put on an exhibition of it’s work from 3rd to 6th January. The work includes designs that the team has done and likes. This was a good way to get the designers to look at and appreciate their own work. Their creations are nothing less than amazing. Colleagues appreciated each and every design and chose their designs based on their liking.

So, we chose to hold the exhibition outside (possibly on the coldest days this year!). But the turnout was great and it was good to see the other departments, even though we’re a few blocks away. We hope you enjoy these images. We’ll be opening up the exhibition to the outside world soon.

Sheena Chadha
The ‘foundation of DCN team’ or ‘the ultimate source of energy to DCN’ are not exaggerated phrases to describe Sheena, coz she does play an instrumental role in keeping her team’s work on track. Perfectionist is the word for her, don’t believe me!!! Give her anything less than perfect and you will see the serious repercussions. She possesses one of the most logical minds at NC which is constantly operational and needless to say she eats, thinks and drinks work. She is a tough task master, who will go that extra mile to deliver excellence and quality in her work. She may scold you or yell at you but her sole motive is to better your work!!!

Anupama Sahay
The most experienced member of DCN, who knows almost anything and everything. She is our one stop solution to every problem concerning DCN work, client liaison, IDBMS what not. She is an encyclopedia when it comes to child rights, thanks to her some 14-15 years of experience in the area. Apart from this she has the distinction of being one of the calmest members of the otherwise hyper DCN team. The best part about her is, she is so adaptable – she is like a guide and advisor when you are lost in a professional maze and the most fun loving person when you are strolling or playing badminton outside D&E campus. Her absence in the office is a sure NO-NO!!!

Sujata Raghavan
One of the newest entrants to our already new DCN team, Sujata has rich experience in the area of rural communication and media. She has lent new and fresh perspectives from grassroots to DCN work and discourse. She is an extrovert in every sense of the word, with her you can not suffer in silence even for a minute. Her sharp wit and tacit one liners can make roaring lions mum, coupling it with her interesting style statement she sure is an enjoyable person to be with.

Swati Srivastava
Petite, perky and an animated conversationalist on any given subject, the first impression belies the stuff that Swati is made up of. She comes from a background of intense study, research and field work. With two Masters degree under her belt, one a Post Graduate Diploma in Dietetics & Public Health Nutrition followed by Masters in Social Work, her dedication to the field is apparent.

This young lady is keen to bring in her professional skills to the social sector, to serve society while acquiring new knowledge and experience. But that apart, she always meets a challenge head-on, giving it her all and leaves no stone unturned to get things going, be it related to a project or getting the team together for a fun idea!

Parvati Chandran
A young woman who knows her mind and where she is headed sums up Parvati. Armed with a Masters in Social Work and a Diploma in Humanitarian and Refugee Law, Parvati has chosen to work in areas of data collation and documentation of social processes in myriad organizations and networks she has been involved with. This has been considerable from projects on nutrition, health, sanitation to what clearly is close to her heart- issues of cross-border trafficking on the India-Bangladesh border.
Parvati comes across as someone who is unruffled and unfazed by the daily hullaballoo of life. Yet there is a passion for what she is involved with, whether it be social development processes or dance which has been her forte from childhood.

When I was first asked about it, I was not very sure whether I want to make this visit to Hardoi or not. However, I made up my mind and decided to leave for the place. I had never heard of it earlier so was little hesitant, but given the fact that it was somewhere in Uttar Pradesh that happens to be my parents’ native place, I felt comfortable.

My role, during the trip, was to monitor the trainings that are conducted for level-three health workers (ASHAs and AWWs) for diarrhea management by New Concept’s team of trainers; I was given an evaluation sheet to be filled for each training I attend. I managed to observe two a day that were going on at the same venue.

During day one, I was very conscious about the points that I had to observe during the sessions and gave my feedback to the team at the end of the day; I could see the impact in the form of positive changes the next day. The hotel, where I stayed, was few meters away from New Concept’s office that made it easier to leave the team when they wanted to relax and join them when I am done with my reporting.

I wanted to talk to the team in detail about the training sessions but realized that they feel bored if talked about on the same topic again and again. Realizing the fact that it is something they do every day, I did not directly talk on the subject in particular. I really liked the fact that they wanted to know the areas where they could improve if they notice I am not giving them feedback on my own.

I have been a co-trainer for few trainings but seeing these trainers managing all the participants on their own while having support of ANMs had a lot to offer if one is to learn. Giving participants respect while maintaining discipline, providing opportunities to all to speak and still having silence while communicating, giving them information while respecting their understandings- to do all this one surely needs specific skills and most of the trainers very well possess these.

I was overwhelmed by participants’ responses and made the observation starting note when I was asked to address the other trainings. Most of the participants were AWWs from one block at one training venue. They really wanted to learn and participated during discussions; this shows their will to do well in the community. Quite opposite to my expectations most of them learnt very patiently about the reporting formats instead of complaining about more work. How do they work in the field one does not know but the attitude they showed during the trainings is to be appreciated.

Apart from the trainings, I got to hear poetry from two of the trainers who love to write and recite about their emotions. It was a different side of their personalities; the proceeding discussions gave me a chance to know them as separate individuals.

I also made a visit to a nearby Ram-Sita Temple that has been very nicely constructed, aesthetically beautiful and very famous in the surrounding areas. It was really peaceful to be in the temple complex after the trainings.

To sum up, the experience at Hardoi with New Concept’s team was a unique experience both professionally and personally.

Jyoti

When FAWE invited Sudha and me to conduct the workshop for AWATS coordinators in Nairobi (don’t worry about the abbreviations), visions of the African lions, Big Cats and the zebras wandering placidly in the huge game reserves of Kenya began to haunt me. To be frank, the only lions I had seen were in the Delhi zoo and the only wildlife sanctuary I had ever been was near Munnar. The lions in the Delhi zoo were dozing away in their cages, thanks to the super hot weather in May which never deters Delhi citizens from making a beeline to the zoo. In Munnar, after hours of driving, I could just about get some glimpses of an elephant herd hiding behind thick jungle. Tigers – forget it!

When my nephew — who is an incorrigible wildlife fan — came to know that I was about to embark on a trip to Kenya, he called me and enquired excitedly, “Mama, are you planning to go to Masai Mara, Tsavo or Samburu or all of them? May be you can even make it to Kilimanjaro.” I paused for several moments. It’s not good to reveal one’s ignorance to nephews. There can be a lot of trouble later. So, I replied cautiously, “I would love to go to all of them. But looks like it will take a week for each”. To which he replied, “Mama, don’t come back without visiting at least one of them. I am sure you will do your project well, but what’s the use if you haven’t seen the Big Cats?” The general tone he conveyed through this important conversation was that I cannot expect to hold onto my popularity-rating, if I don’t come back with photos of lions staring at me and giraffe’s chasing my safari van.

When I conveyed my predicament to Sudha she feverishly emailed to various tourist operators to find out what kind of packages they were offering. It turned out that a rendezvous with lions and Big Cats required atleast 3 days. Besides the workshop days, our calendar was already full with appointments. In one of those insane moments we had also included a 2-day foray into Ethiopia. When we said we wanted to do some marketing in Kenya and Ethiopia, Malli and Anjali took it a bit too seriously and lined up a lot of appointments. We had just a weekend to spare. So, we settled for a visit to the Nairobi National Park.

Nairobi National Park is no pushover compared to Masai Mara (atleast that is what I consoled myself with). The Park is just 7 kms away from Nairobi city centre. Only a fence separates the park from the metropolis. It is not uncommon, I heard, that some animals now and then decide to take a day out and visit nearby homes! The Park covers 117 kms (this I noted from Wikipedia).

Aruna, who played the double role of client and host, prepared a lunch bag for all of us. Aruna’s house was a home away from home. She made sure that Sudha and I were well fed and would return to India with body and soul more energized. I had the luxury of having upma for breakfast and sambar for dinner right in the heart of eastern Africa. But let me not digress.

Suresh, her husband, took the wheel. Amartya, their 4 ½ year old son, took up his place on my lap. And with Sudha, armed with binoculars and camera, we all set out for the Park early morning.

The Park has a large and diverse wildlife population (if wikipedia were to be believed). Species normally found in the park include African buffalo, baboon, black rhinoceros, Burchell’s zebra, cheetah, Coke’s hartebeest, Grant’s gazelle, hippopotamus, leopard, lion, Thomson’s gazelle, eland, impala, Masai giraffe, ostrich, vulture, and waterbuck. But on the particular day when we set out to examine the Park, it was a day off for many of the inhabitants.

When we were a few yards into the Park, there was a sudden scream from Sudha. She had spotted a bird with a phenomenally curved beak – I think it was called the Abyssinian Scimitarbill. From a distance it looked more like our familiar pigeon to me. Sudha was absolutely peeved about my ignorance. Now, to set the record straight, Sudha had a rather unfair advantage over me with respect to bird watching. Her husband, Sharad, is an avid bird watcher and probably has catalogued in his mental database at least a few hundred bird species of India. Sudha and Sharad watch the nesting habits of birds of Hyderabad through binoculars from their balcony frequently. So, the best option for me was to leave it to Sudha to explain the particular nuances of the birds. Another disadvantage I had was that I was very good at recognizing primary colours (remember RGB and CMYK from Niyam’s class). But shades and palettes were too much of a strain for me (I skipped that part of Niyam’s class). So, while it appeared to me that the bird was predominantly yellow, my observation met with wild protests from Sudha. Misguided reaction I thought. After all we were not there to conduct a census of the Park’s bird species, which at last count were about 500.

I had a feeling Suresh’s sympathies were with me. He is a very friendly soul, an excellent conversationalist. He has loads of patience also. We made him drive around the Park “n” number of times. The Park being circular, we kept coming back to the same place again and again. There were various ways one can reach the Cheetah Gate, for example. But Suresh was not flustered. Whenever he heard screams he promptly stopped or slowed down. To get a better angle of ostriches having a conclave in the middle of the savannah, he would reverse and choose a spot which offered a clear view. Amartya too soon became an expert at spotting birds through the binoculars.

We saw giraffes in plenty. In fact one very tall fellow (he really stood above the crowd as they say) blocked our road for a good 30 minutes and then had some fun chasing our car. Ostriches were also in plenty. In the plain savannah, animals could be spotted from very far off. Zebras, our good old buffaloes, vultures, gazelles and impalas were all there. But try as we may, we could not come across a singly rhino or a lion. May be the extra warm day kept them away.

The marketing presentations we did seemed to be very successful. Our potential clients had that glint in their eye, of which we are only too familiar in India. They must have thought, “Ah! here is the agency which will deliver quality work on time”.

Hopefully the lions and rhinos will be out next time and marketing plans would also include ample sight-seeing breaks.

S. Raghavan (one of our Directors)

Here’s a glimpse into what we are doing when we’re not killing ourselves over work

We have recently got ourselves a volley ball court. After lunch you will find half of the population of our office at the court, jumping away to glory. We even have cheer squads! What made us really happy was that we were responsible for making the court. We painted the lines, cemented the ground, put up the nets on the periphery of the court, and now we play everyday. As part of regular physical exercise, this was a great idea. If you ever drop in to our office, come just after lunch, for 30 minutes…and let the games begin!!

Dear friends and colleagues,
On 6th of August we got the shocking news about Prachi. Prachi was close to all of us who had the opportunity to work with her all these years in the New Concept family. A wonderful person with a big heart and smile, she made an impact on each one of us. She lives and will always live in our hearts and minds.