Goat meat is tasty and according to ancient belief has medicinal properties too. Bone soup is good for joint pains, lungs for respiratory problems, kidney for renal trouble, liver for sluggish liver and the list goes on.

Science considers this as trash and says goat meat is cholesterol rich and is no good for heart. But the goat meat lovers have their tongue dominate science.

Tonnes of human waste are dumped on the rail tracks everyday.
But thanks to mother nature.
The micro-organisms convert the substance into harmless elements.
You would hardly feel that such an obnoxious material ever existed at all, if you happen to walk on the rail track, the next day!

Sculpture art is a science. The principles of sculpting are well defined and the sculptors have a methodology for varieties of stone. They have a diversity of tools for sculpting.

It is customary that all sculptors are trained in power and precision grips before they take on the stone.

Folk lores talk of sculptors meditating and choosing a particular part of the day before they break the stone. The stone assumes the shape of clay and becomes soft for the sculptor. This is beyond grasp of science.

Spiritual attainment is related to an individual’s insight into self knowledge. Lord Krishna explains at length this truth in the Bhagavad-Gita.

Lord Krishna conveyed this message to Arjuna as if it were in a dream. In a fraction of a second Arjuna experienced the revelation.

It was a thirty minute flight by Continental Express from Houston to Dallas. Conant received me at the Dallas Air-port. He drove me in his wagon that had a window on its roof. I could have a clear view of both the sky-scrapers and the road side right from my seat. As I was enjoying the happy ride the car came to a sudden halt. Conant said, “Here’s where Kennedy was shot!”

Melancholy swept across my face.

I remembered the day I was seated in a barber’s shop(in Madras) years ago when news broke that that John F. Kennedy the finest leader the world had ever known was assassinated.

In the Heart Animation Academy everything was a mess to begin with. The faculty did not know what to teach and the students’ expectations were too high. I was put to pressure.

What was missing in the Academy was a curriculum. I needed therefore somebody who could frame the curriculum and offer it as course material. Mike Owens came from Startoons. He taught the grammar of animation. Before that he made sure that students understood the laws of motion.

Mike put the Academy on wheels.

In 1960s the Cinema theatres were smoke houses. Both the smokers and non-smokers smelled Nicotine. It used to be horrible during summer months and especially during the matinee shows.

Only after the introduction of air-conditioning did certain theatres impose restrictions on smokers. Yet the hardships for the non-smokers continued unabated.

That smoking is a potential threat to health was realized only in late 1970s and it took more than three decades there after to ban smoking completely in all public places.

I was championing the cause of “No Smoking” in the College campus. In every class, before I started the lesson, I used to give a brief lecture on the evils of smoking. The cartoon I drew on the board made sense and some students began to think.

This cartoon was also selected for a Prize by the Trade Fair Authority of India. I was invited to Delhi and honored. The Cancer Society of India also used this cartoon for their campaigns.

Felling trees is alright provided they are replaced by planting new ones.
Older trees remove lesser CO2 from the atmosphere as compared to the younger trees.

But the felled trees have to be stored as timber and house furnishings. If they are destroyed, they will release all of CO2 stored over years!

Principal-in-charge

Our Principal was away and a Senior Professor was put in-charge. The Secretary drafted a circular and gave it to the typist.The circular was typed as follows:

Prof.Natarajan will act as Principal ¾ in-charge w.e.f today.
- Secretary.

In the type writing machine ‘-’ and ‘3/4’ are on the same key. To type ‘-‘ the shift key has to be pressed.
Our typist made the mistake in a hurry and so was the Secretary who signed the circular!

At the Heart Animation Academy (Annex of the Annapoorna Studios, Hyderabad) I had about 150 exceptionally talented young artists aspiring to become animators. As Principal, I requested Venkat Akkineni, the Managing Director and Uttam, the Executive Director to arrange for Jon Mclenehan of Startoons, Chicago, to visit Hyderabad.

Jon came, met the students, went through their portfolios and was astounded at their artistic skills.

I told Jon, that the students of the Academy represented only a microscopic segment of the enormous talent available in India.

Our Indian mothers are adept in drawing kolams (floral designs) and art flows in their veins. It is a skill inherent in them and it is no wonder that their children are natural artists. Jon was all appreciation!