Profiles

The demure and mild exterior of Rajalakshmi Murali conceals the grit and professional cutting edge that makes her a very valued and well respected colleague at Development Alternatives.

A Bachelor of Science with a major in Physics and a Post-graduate diploma holder in Computer Applications, Raji (as she is known) has been with Development Alternatives for the past two years.

Impressed with the ideology of the organisation, the flexibility, its structure and the diversity of its activities, she joined

 Development Alternatives, determined to make the best of all work opportunities that would present themselves. And she has done better than just making the best of it.

She has prepared computer programs for the entire accounting system within the organisation. Raji has even trained and familiarised the staff of the accounts unit with the total accounting and payroll package.

She is presently working on a program for the production planning, costing, sales and inventory of the Income generation Handloom weaving centre at Mayan Village in Harayana State.

Over the past two years, she has helped Development Alternatives collect and build up its Computer Hardware and Software stock and has mastered many a software and DTP packages such as the Pagemaker, Super paint, Cricket graph, MS Excel and even MS Powerpoint (which is occupying a lot of her time these days). Raji is well known for her patience and has proved a good teacher to many young professionals who have learnt to work comfortably with computers under her guidance. But all patience is gone, if, heaven forbid, you were to infect the computers with a Virus!




"Very few people look to the villagers and their problems - Development Alternatives does".

Each staff member at Development Alternatives firmly believes in rural development and progress. It is this very ideology that has resulted in Sriram Pratap’s fruitful and long relationship with the organisation.

Sriram Pratap, a traditional weaver from Uttar Pradesh, is North India, joined Development Alternatives in 1985 and has since never stopped learning and achieving. He was very actively involved in the R & D efforts spanning one-and-a-half to two years and worked closely with engineers in developing the TARA loom.

He has wide field experience, and has played a key role in the setting up of handloom weaving centres in various places in India. As a representative of Development Alternatives, he has helped in the installation of the TARA loom and trained the users on the loom. Over time he has also suggested many improvements in the design and monitored repair and maintenance of all TARA looms.

He is a master weaver now working in a supervisory capacity at the TARA factory in New Delhi. Simple and soft-spoken, Pratap feels that the camaraderie and cooperation within the organisation is very conducive for his work. He has been able to create his own work and can find greater realisation by being socially useful and instrumental in creating income generation facilities for the rural community in India.

A very committed weaver, Pratap commands respect not only from his fellow weavers but also from the entire professional and supervisory staff at Development Alternatives. He is presently involved in experimenting with new designs and samples on the TARA loom - exploring its versatility. We hope that Development Alternatives gives you the opportunity to explore and discover your versatility and potential - as a master weaver and a human being. All the best to you!

by Radhika Ranjan

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