Great things come in small packages, and Sindhuja Rajamaran personifies this statement. Standing a little over four-and-a-half feet, this 15-year-old is India’s youngest animator, and also heads Seppan Technologies (a part of Tenth Planet Technologies), Chennai.
Her interest in animation started early — her father quit a government job to pursue his passion for art. Just like her dad, Sindhuja strives to become a self-taught person. You can find Sindhuja in her school, Velammal Matriculation Higher Secondary School, only during exams. “I don’t wish to sound complacent. It’s not like I don’t require anybody’s assistance. In fact, if I have managed to barely clear my exams, I owe it largely to my friend and tutor, Sivashanthari,” says the Class XII student.
A short film developed by her for an NGO led to a chance meeting with Kumaran Mani, CEO, Tenth Planet Technologies. Mani is nothing short of a demigod for this Vancouver Film School (Canada) aspirant. He made everything easy for Sindhuja — right from staff, office space and investment, Mani handled it all.
In return, Sindhuja, does animation projects for her mentor. “Tenth Planet, as part of their CSR, trains jobseekers in communication skills, design aspects, etc, and I help them create fun and interactive animation videos,” she says. This is apart from her big projects including Garbo, an animation movie on how to regulate garbage, which she created for an NGO. She is also working on VNagar, ready-made ads for shops in TNagar, a shopping hub in the city.
— shilpa.vasudevan@newindianexpress.com