JOURNEY OF INDIAN ANIMATION                                    INDUSTRY

India animation sector is one of the fastest growing industry of the world. Thou the journey of this industry was not that easy.  The Indian animation industry mainly consist of  traditional 2D animation, 3D animation and visual effects for feature films in coming years it is also developing in live action and 4D films. In 1956,  Clair Weeks (Disney Studios animator, who had worked on Bambi, was invited by Films Division of India in Mumbai to establish and train the country's first animation studio as a collaboration  of the American technical co-operation mission. With his help  Indian animators, where able to  produce the first animated film called The Banyan Deer (1957) by veteran animator Ram Mohan at the start of his career at Films Division's Cartoon Unit.

Another major achievement was a short educational film  Ek Anek Aur Ekta,  released in 1974.Then there was no stopping and they went on making  first Indian animated television series was Ghayab Aaya, which aired in 1986 and was directed by Suddhasattwa Basu and in year 1998 was a big achievement  when they released another televison series made using 3D and VFX  effects was Captain Vyom.

 Roadside Romeo was the first Indian 3D animated film , a joint venture between Yash Raj Films and the Indian division of the Walt Disney Company. It was written and directed by Jugal Hansraj.

AIDS is a Taboo in India

A UN report shows that India has the third-highest number of people living with HIV infection in the world accounting for about 4 out of 10 people suffering from the infection in Asia

In a country as diverse and as large as India is, it is possible for the population to contact innumerable moderate to severe diseases and infections. One of the most dangerous being HIV/ AIDS. More than 2.1 million people continue to be affected by this deadly virus in the country despite the mass awareness campaigns run by the government. What makes it worse is the social taboo that is associated with the disease often forcing patients to keep the disease hidden from others.

 

To simply understand, HIV and AIDS, both terms are often used together but are different. HIV or Human immunodeficiency virus, which attacks and destroys white blood cells or T Lymphocytes in the immune system making the human body prone to all types of diseases, cancer germs and bacteria. HIV can be transmitted from one person to another when a person comes in a direct contact with the mucous membrane or the bloodstream of the infected person.

On the other hand, AIDS is a condition, which develops in the advanced stages of HIV infection due to a weak immune system.

Dr KK Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) and National President Elect Indian Medical Association (IMA) said, “HIV/AIDS continue to affect a large section of the Indian population despite various mass awareness campaigns, availability of various state-of-the-art medical interventions, and evolving technology. It is because of the social stigma that our society has associated with the disease; that people continue to avoid routine check-ups. It is important to educate the masses about the various disease prevention measures along with the fact that people with HIV can live a normal life. The government and various healthcare associations must also ensure the availability of condoms in smaller cities and towns where the disease is more rampant.”

To fully understand the nature of the diseases, it is important to know about the myths associated with HIV/ AIDS. One of the biggest existing myths is that related to the transmission of the HIV/ AIDS virus. HIV/AIDS cannot be transmitted by casually coming in contact with an already infected person through gestures like shaking hands, hugging, kissing, sneezing, touching, using the same toilet, sharing clothes and towels, sharing the same cutlery or mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

HIV/ AIDS can be diagnosed with the help of a blood test. And if that blood test comes positive, an individual is advised to do follow up for the blood tests to be sure that the person is HIV positive. If that is the case, the person is suggested to undergo several other tests to see how far the disease has progressed for the suitable treatment. In cases where an individual comes in contact with an infected person, it is advised that he should take up the tests at the earliest.