Navendu started his career with Indian Market Research Bureau out of IIFM and worked for 15 years at international Development organizations like Population Services International, Pathfinder International and SNV (Netherlands Development Organization). He has lived in South Africa, Netherlands, Cambodia and Vietnam apart from India and US.
He is currently Analytics and Audiences Director at AARP based in Washington DC. AARP is an American advocacy organization that is membership based focused on making sure that people age with dignity and choice. He has been with AARP for last 4 years
He advises students to have faith, and keep an eye on success in all aspects of life beyond career and academics.
Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/navendu-shekhar-2668141/
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How I got here
I am Director, Audience & Analytics at AARP. It’s an American non-profit that works on making aging easier. My day to day involves analyzing survey data to find something of interest to 50 and older, and planning surveys. I am based in Washington DC. I used to be International Development (international Health, really) from 2005 to 2020. I got disillusioned by the international development model of experts flying in to solve deep problems, and was happy to join AARP.
My story, so far, is one of happy accidents. When I was graduating from IIFM in 1997, I was happy to join anywhere. There were a bunch of us who would say “ if nothing else we will always have Sewa Mandir” At the time Sewa Mandir used to pay Rs 5000 a month—it was so low that we always felt that if nothing else, we will get a job there.
I applied to SRI-IMRB because they were offering a lot more money than any other place. And because the person who came to recruit us, Hema Viswanathan, was a live wire presenter. She was so good, I was in awe of her and was totally swayed by what she had to say. Anand Sinha (PFM 1992-94) was already working there in Delhi, and he became my first boss. I learnt a lot from him We are still good friends and check on each other when we happen to visit each other’s town. I joined SRI-IMRB with my very good friend Sridhar Reddy from the same batch. We lived together in Vikas Puri, Khan Pur and Saket in Delhi, and he is still one of my best friends.
I worked at IMRB for 6 years. When I was applying for further studies in 2002, I did not know much about Cambridge in US. During my google search, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University came up. It’s hard to believe, but at the time, I did not know too much about it. Karthik, a PhD student, at Harvard was conducting a survey through us. We became really good friends but it never occurred to me to ask him or a reference. In my mind he was a student himself—why would anyone listen to him? He got to know, totally serendipitously , that I was applying to Kennedy school. He wrote a beautiful recommendation letter for me, jointly with his very famous professor. Rest as they say is history. I got through and got a full ride. And Kennedy School changed my life.
My first job after Harvard was also an accident—my CV stayed in a pile at PSI (Population Services International, a big name in Global Health) for a really long time, and then one of the people who worked for me at IMRB mentioned me to the research department at PSI in DC. Similarly, my current job at AARP would not have been possible, had I not gotten a reference from a person who worked for me at PSI. Guess you can see the pattern here!
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What do I remember of IIFM
At IIFM, I appreciated the way that they treated us as adults. I had lived in boarding schools before, so that part was not new. But in 1997, IIFM was very progressive. We all had total freedom to do what we wanted until when we wanted. I reveled in it.
I remember the mess food—I never took a liking to it. I was very thin when I was there—I remember when I gained weight and reached 60Kg. It was a major achievement. I remembered the walks around the campus, and going down to Madhuban to have pedas or milk-cake. I remember the water tank in the middle and the shade it provided.
I liked the arches and the campus. I liked the terrace of our houses so much. You could see the whole lake from there, and the national park. You could see the rain coming in. It was my favorite place and I took so many pictures from that terrace.
I don’t remember our house’s name but my room mate was Rahul Kamble. He was so patient and such a fabulous guy. Ashvini and Debu, also wonderful people, were across from us. We were a small batch, just 21 of us, and there was a lot of time we spent in even smaller groups.
I remember the dance parties we had every month. Ostensibly, it was the birthdays in the previous month that we were celebrating. But boy, we just needed an excuse to put really loud music and drink. Our batch had fabulous dancers—Kajoli was a class in herself. And Tanmay and Sridhar were really good. Vikas Nath, from a batch before, was crazy energetic.
I remember our discussions during the class meetings we used to have. Sunil Padale was the born negotiator and wonderfully diplomatic. A huge shout out to Devesh, Atulya, Shailesh, Tanmay, Kajoli, Nelson, Debu, Jaya, who made these potentially fractious meetings, very fun! Or at least that’s how I remember them now.
I remember when the cave paintings were discovered at the little hill where IIFM sat. Debu and I were on a walk down the hill that day and were looking at the wrong side of the hill.
I remember when the first summer rain came to the campus, and there were snakes everywhere including some that got on to the glass windows of our rooms. It was so terrifying.
I can’t remember much of the classes. I remember Parag Dube used to teach us Market Research, and P P Yadav taught us Statistics. I was not good at these at all at IIFM , though they became my bread and butter when I started working in Survey Research at SRI-IMRB.
Among other faculties, I remember CS Rathore (who wrote recommendations for me) , Majumdaar and his beautiful melodious voice and the songs he would sing for us, BP Pethiya who was my OT adviser, and Sujoy Banerjee who used to teach us before joining IFS officer.
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How did IIFM Help me?
The first lesson was one of choosing to come to IIFM. For many of us, that already showed a massive motivation to do something different, something off the beaten track. And IIFM provided those opportunities. I remember coming green wanting to increase forest cover. And then through JFM, and PRA, realizing that human development was what my heart craved. IIFM helped me know myself more.
Second, was IIFM’s progressiveness. We were totally unaware of the discrimination in the wider world—IIFM was our cocoon where anything was possible, and we could be anyone we wanted. This boy from Bihar felt at ease there, it felt a place of possibility.
Third was the natural beauty of the campus itself. I have not seen the campus in recent years, and I have been told, it has changed a lot. In 1995-97, it was very calm, very beautiful and very charming. On cloudy or rainy days, it was stunning and it effected me a great deal.
Fourth was the friendships I made there. As I look back, now that I am over 50, much of my close friends are from that phase of my life. I see Kajoli and Atulya every year. Anand and Sridhar are still part of my life. And I love see everyone’s messages on our class’s whatsapp group.
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Engagement with IIFMites
I am not very active on linkedin but look at direct messages every few days or so.
I can be reached at linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/navendu-shekhar-2668141/
I remember I went to thank CS Rathore (IIFM faculty who taught us Computer Science and GPS) for writing a reference letter for me, and he asked me to ‘pay it forward’ . That message has stayed with me. To all other IIFMites, please reach out if I can be of help. Please contact me on linkedin—and include your purpose in the introduction itself.
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Advice
My first recommendation is to engage fully. You are not going to get this time again. And you will see this time differently when you are older. Make the most of it now. Throw yourself into as much as you can. Studies are only a small part of it. I can’t remember my subjects anymore, nor most of my teachers. But I remember how it felt to be at IIFM, and how soon I started craving my time there.
Second, have faith. Things will turn out OK. I am not religious, possibly not even spiritual, and yet I believe things do turn out OK. Don’t let your ambition rust though, and think more than just studies. You need be ambitious for all of your life and not just your career.
Third, be nice to people. It’s a good thing to do and you never know who might help you as you go through life. All my jobs– I got them because someone put in a good word for me, and they did that because they wanted to.
Lastly, spend some time alone—and like yourself! Choose your life partner carefully -it’s one of the most important decisions you will make. But also to remember that you can undo partnerships—it’s hard, as I speak from experience, but it’s not impossible either, especially if it is not working for you.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. Shireen Kujur, Suneel Padale, Mukul Trivedi -PFM 1997. Kunal & Sudipta – PFM 1998.