Story Rainbow - Chapter 01 - Discovering The Philosophy

It was October 28th, 2012. Asifa India was celebrating International Animation Day in Hyderabad at a prominent venue that had a large auditorium.

One of the key organizers called and invited me to the event. Optimistically, I asked if I was being invited as a speaker. The organizer couldn’t promise me a definite slot because there was a line of eminent personalities and awardees from the animation industry presenting their achievements. Nevertheless, the organizer did consider me as the 11th man on his cricket team and asked me to be ready with my presentation in case one of the speakers doesn’t turn up.

Earlier that year in June, I had been sponsored by the French Embassy to visit the Annecy Animation Festival, one of the most loved artist-centric festivals in the beautiful lake city of South France. The Annecy euphoria was still lingering inside of me. And in the same euphoria of sharing and connecting, I got my presentation ready and booked my tickets from Mumbai to Hyderabad.

The talks had already begun when I arrived at the venue. The auditorium was bustling with over 400 audience members, most of whom were enthusiastic students and young professionals. The front row obviously was for the speakers.

Excited, uncertain, and restless, I was consistently inquiring with the organizers whether I would be getting time on stage. I am blessed indeed that one of the speakers didn’t turn up that day and the organizer asked me to go on stage right after the talk that was going on.

I briskly walked backstage with my laptop, wondering, how am I going to stand out and be heard right after the success story that was going on. I hadn’t won any international awards or even any national ones. But still, the Universe had called me to the event and kept one speaker from attending. And probably the Universe had something in its mind that it wished to channel through me.

They called out my name. I got on the stage. There were about a thousand eyeballs on me eager to hear something probably as grand or grander than what they had just heard. I began spontaneously “My friends, since morning we have been listening to some amazing success stories. Well, I would like to share my struggle with you.” The whole auditorium went silent. There was a drastic shift of energy in the entire space. The speakers in the front row smiled with care. The young professionals and students sat upright to listen carefully to what I was to share with them. The gap between the stage and the audience had vanished. I could sense warmth and oneness engulfing us.

Supported by images from some of the show concepts I had created, I shared my struggle as a dreamer, storyteller, and show creator who had consistently and passionately been on the challenging path of creating content for over a decade and how I have kept myself motivated through these times. After my talk, some of the speakers and organizers praised me for my courage and I was surrounded by many students who wanted to know more. Sharing my struggle story was spontaneous, but what I learned became a philosophy I live by.

“Vulnerability Liberates Us From Duality.”

I needed to ripen to be given by next opportunity to experiment and ascertain this powerful knowledge and philosophy...

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