An Interview with God *ahem*...I mean an Animator

Another ardent fan of The Chronicles of R, a good friend and one of the very few most down to earth people that I have ever met, Madhurima Gupta a.k.a. Madzee with a "!" in the end is an animator in real life, or should I say reel life. I always bored her with my questions, then I thought why not ask her for an interview. Maybe this would also help the future animator to gain an insight into what the industry in reality is like. So here you go -

1. How does it feel to play God?
A: The way Bruce Almighty felt when he tried to do the same.

2. Was the path to success really smooth?
A: It Was about as smooth as a crocodile's skin. The path to pursuing ones passion is always bumpy and potholed.

3. What does it takes to be an animator?
A: Patience,Persistence and Perspicacity.

4. Since how long have you being making characters dance to your tunes?
A: My tunes?
Oh no ...the clients' tunes. And have grown pretty adept at dancing to the clients' tunes myself as well.

5. Is it really lonely at the top?
A: Not applicable.

6. What is the future on animation in and outside India?
A: By the looks of it, I mean the way animation institutes are rolling out regiments of industry-ready animators, the way innumerable studios are cropping up and surviving the rat race too, the way salaries are ever on the rise for highly qualified animators in India, and the number of international and indigenous projects being taken up. I'd say, pretty good!

7. What is the difference between characters animated by you and real life actors?
A: They're more "real" and dependable than real life ones and oh! they don't charge crores for acting a bit part in a movie and do not throw temper tantrums.

8. Which school did you attend to?
A: Lycee -- Pratt Memorial -- Xaviers -- JU-- Pentamedia.

9. How did you become interested in animation at the first place?
A: I've loved cartoons since I was a kid and always dreamed of animating them. When the industry came around and stood on its own feet, I jumped onto the bandwagon.

10. How would you define success?
A: Success is failure turned inside out.

11. What would be the one word which would describe you best?
A: Isn't this supposed to be multiple choice ?

And if you want to be interviewed do contact me and if you want to read more of this interviews then please subscribe to The Chronicles of R.

And Madhu, well no. This is not exactly a MCQ. But we'll end it here anyways. You have already hogged too much of bandwidth and limelight, so I have decided to continue this the next time over a cup of coffee maybe. Thank you very much for your time and patience.

An Interview with a Doctor

An ardent follower of The Chronicles of R, Anmol Kathuria is a doctor by profession. Moreover she happens to be a very close friend of mine. I had always wondered how does it feel to be a doctor, so I thought who would be a better person than to ask Dr Anmol! Here is how our conversation went:

1. How did you get interested in becoming a doctor?
A: From my early childhood this profeesion had always fascinated me. The aura, the respect that a doctor commands in both personal and profeisonal life made me see them with awe.

2. What hardships did you have to overcome during your pursuit of your career?
A: A great sense of responsibility and seriousness from the early days of med school which soon got translated into a passion to know more and learning as much as one can as the smallest failure may result in catastrophe and loss of faith.

3. Do you have any regrets about being a doctor (if so which and why)?
A: No regrets as such, but the amount of suffering a doctor has to deal with so closely and with hope and faith you are looked upon, one always wishes to do more.

4. What schools did you attend?
A: I believe formal education is not the end all and know all for a doctor. It is a continous process and I am still learning.

5. What is the greatest feat of being a doctor?
A: Seeing a person on the mend. That is the reason for which I came into this profession.

6. How did if feel when you received your doctoral degree?
A: There was a great sense of achievement, self pride with equal amount of responsibility and an intense urge to go out and do it.

7. How long have you been in practice?
A: I have been practicing for almost a decade now.

8. What do you like to do for past time when you're not in the hospital?
A: Well, I am an avid reader. My personal life is sorrounded by my books, my pet and I also spend some time on the net which is quite evident from this interview.

9. Did you have another career goal before your pursuit of being a doctor? If yes then why did you change?
A: N/A.

10.What are the 2 things each that you love and hate about your profession?
A: Love — Knowing how to treat and heal a patient is an immense satisfaction in itself, secondly I love the sense of self worth. Hate – Preset rigid and over defined career growth opportunities and contrary to popular belief this is the most thanksless professsion.

11.What legacy do you want to leave behind?
A: Healer with a smile. What more would I even want.

12.What do you do in order to mentally separate yourself from your job?
A: I have learnt to live with it.

Thanks Anmol for taking time out from your busy schedule to answer these questions. By the way, for the past few weeks even Anmol was quite curious to know about R. I hope my previous posts were able to satiate all of your curiosity about R.

From now on I would feature interviews from my constant readers and ardent fan followers of The Chronicles of R. If you too want to participate in this then forward me your name along with your profession and your opinion about The Chronicles of R on my email or through the feedback form. I would try to get back to you as soon as possible. Till then, take care and keep smiling :)