The Humble Housewife
After years of a demanding family life, when Kanti wanted to use her time more constructively, the first thing she thought of was computers, courtesy her son, who had dubbed her computer-illiterate! Kanti also had a lot of free time on her hands and was in a position to take up a full-time career, which seemed a more attractive option than remain a housewife. So, in 1998, she started off with a course in 3D and 2D animation and graphic design.
All that is required is a little imagination and the zest to do something
“Computers is one field where prior education is not considered a qualifier.” This graduate in English literature from Delhi University had never handled a computer until the course had begun. But she learnt fast. And she learnt how to send e-mails, create folders and so on at the same time that she was learning multimedia.
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“I never took another course for learning the basics of computing-I learnt it all together.” A year later and armed with skills in graphic design, 2D and 3D animation, she was raring to go.
Today-seven years later-Kanti imparts training to 12 students at her academy.
Opportunities Galore
Kanti never sat idle after having completed her training. “I started getting opportunities that not only interested me but also helped me earn a few decent bucks,” she says. Kanti has given guest lectures in colleges such as SIES Nerul, Navi Mumbai, and JJ School of Arts, Mumbai.
Apart from teaching, which is her passion, she has also worked on animation projects for tele-serials such as Gharwali Uparwali, Son Pari and Shararat.
Since such assignments happened only occasionally, Kanti had a lot of free time on hand. And so, when she got the opportunity to be a full-time faculty member with the computer department at Rai University, she jumped at it.
But after a few months at the college, Kanti, “realised that the teaching focus and syllabus was not industry-relevant. And despite my best efforts, I found I could do nothing to change it. I therefore felt I could not give training honestly, and wanted to move on”.
Enter E-dutainment Unlimited
While at Rai University, Kanti shared her concerns with her husband. “My husband has been very supportive; in fact, it was he who suggested that I start an institute.”
Kanti was sceptical about the idea, but with some support from her husband and a bit of willpower, E-dutainment Unlimited, her academy, began in February 2005.
Although it’s yet to become a profitable venture, the overheads have been taken care of, insists Kanti, who trains her students on Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXPress, Flash MX, HTML, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Maya and more.
“My students get a free overview of MS Office, the Internet, and e-mail. This is because many of my students are still in school, and may not have been exposed to computers before this. I wouldn’t want them to face the same problems I faced,” says Kanti.
At the institute, students decides what they want to learn. At the end of the training and assessment they give a presentation where the students’ parents are present.
Looking To The Future
“My wish is for multimedia to reach every household in India. All that is required is a little imagination and the zest to do something.”
Kanti’s husband is planning to start his own production house in some time, and she hopes to be able to get work from there as well. “My students who are good will never have a shortage of opportunities-there is so much work coming into India, for foreign films, Indian films, TV serials, etc.
“There are options galore. It’s only the individual who can either make it or break it!”