Intern Speak

CCS Internship program 2011 began on 9 June. We bring you first impressions of a couple of our interns at the end of the two day orientation program. Intern speak — unedited.

A Good Start to the Journey

By: Jasraj Singh Bhinder (Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi)

They say that the best things in life require patience. But finding yourself in the midst of such an eclectic crowd, with a dozen experienced wizards (I am sure they mean no harm to the elves, Kanchan) guiding us, I may just find this to be a falsified hypothesis! What is promised to be an enjoyable journey has begun with a good start. The first day started as expected with awkward silences and the sudden need not to appear boring! But much of that vaporized as we started with Vipin leading us into what to expect from the six weeks here at CCS. His infatuation with the number three ensured that everything he said was provided in triads, but more on that later (I am still trying to figure out if it has to do something with the holy trinity!). The sessions on public policy and its implications by Bhuvana Anand proved most revealing. More of these eye-openers are sure to be expected in the coming days as two days might be too less time to form any final opinions on just about anything.

We have been reminded continuously that there is always more to what meets the eyes and as people open up to each other more, we just might develop those friendships that Shreya has promised us we would. But then of course, it might take a few more trips to Naivedyam to achieve that! Of course But on a more serious note, with the kind of openness that CCS has towards its interns, it is a sure thing that we can do (and say) just about anything irrespective of CCS’ teams own views. This is what makes this internship so special- To have a team that not only encourages you to think but trains you with skills to question their own views is something you don’t see so often. Kudos for that!

Rearing to go!

By: Udita Singh (Lady Sri Ram College, University of Delhi)

The first two days at CCS have only strengthened my belief that one learns more in a healthy working environment than in the confines of four walls. The past two days have been filled with many interesting observations about the internship, and the most attractive factor to me was how efficiently it had all been planned for us. Many of us, including me have had little experience in field research and methodologies. But just after two days and two workshops — one on research methodology by Vipin, our research guide and a workshop on efficient usage of internet as a research tool, have insofar yielded good results.

Having said that, it’s not all serious stuff here! We had a couple of ice-breaking games amongst the twenty of us, and that certainly helped us loosen a bit. Also, sitting together at lunch in the kitchen has been a good idea, as sharing our lunches has only got us closer!

There is definitely a lot brimming here! I sense plenty of enthusiasm, vigor and excitement in A-69! People teeming with ideas, thoughts, opinions, counter-arguments — I believe I could not have found a more ‘intellectually-inclined’ batch to be a part of.

As a communications intern, interested in the field of development communication — I wish to make it all a two-way process i.e. ensure that I have a give-and-take outlook towards the internship program.

I am definitely charged up and rearing to GO!