India's Expanding Animation Horizons

India's Expanding Animation Horizons
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Born in 1931, Goswami started life as a graphic designer and commercial artist in the post of art director at the famous firm J. Walter Thompson. But his formal art background soon prodded him to explore folk art, puppetry, theatre, music and animation. By the time he became associated with the National Institute of Design as consultant designer, he had already made a puppet film Hattogol Bijoy, which won a national award, The Prime Minister's Gold Medal as the Best Children's Puppet Film, in 1961. His interest in animation and the study of its different techniques, specially low cost animation, was helped further by his own association with NID where he found a lot of animation being done. Hence Goswami made some animated advertisements -- "Fan Fancy" for GEC, "Important People" for Bata India, "The Black Cat" for Union Carbide and others. He also created many films for Satellite TV, India's official TV channel, and Calcutta TV. But his most important role in the Eastern Region's animation scene was as an animation instructor, because he timely noted that although the Eastern Region was full of raw talent, lack of proper training and equipment was a major problem. NID had by then opened a Calcutta Cell, or school, with Goswami as its leader. As a result, a 16mm animation camera rostrum was built and an animation workshop lasting four months was organized in January 1985. This workshop showed the work of two students, Gautam Benegal and Anjan Ghosh, who later became animators. Cut-out animation or animation using stick-figures like that of Emil Cohl was stressed. Goswami arranged screenings of great animation films from Lotte Reiniger and others to enhance his students' vision. Later through NID a full year long animation training programme was specially designed for the Calcutta Cell, Eastern Region. An older NID animation student Chitra Sarathi was helping Goswami with the Calcutta Cell then. The programme was really the brain child of Ashok Chatterjee, an old NID veteran and designer, who convinced NID to carry it out, with Goswami also constantly urging NID to do something for the Eastern Region. Ultimately Anjan Ghosh, by then a veteran animator, Dilip Goswami and myself were chosen for this training programme in 1986-87 and literally "packed off" to NID by Goswami to make full use of the animation facilities there. This training programme can be called successful because myself, along with two of my NID associates, made a film which has gone to Hiroshima '98 as part of a special program of Indian animation. Prior to that, the film was screened at MIFF in 1994. However, the saddest part of the whole situation is that Goswami suddenly left us in January 1993 just as the rough cut of this film was being edited. He did not live to see his students' success but he will remain ever immortal in the hearts of thousands of his students and friends due to his sensitivity, the beauty of his creations and his complete dedication to design, animation and puppetry. He is no longer here, but we are strictly bound in our promise to our guru to continue animation and develop it as an industry in the Eastern Region.