Create animated magic with this workshop in Mumbai tomorrow

Tehzeeb Khurana shows a child how to create a phenakistoscope

Magic has for long been associated with a supposed supernatural ability that sets you apart from the regular humans who cannot, for instance, make birds and coins appear out of thin air. And despite the never-fading amusement every time we encounter a magician, it is common knowledge that magic is actually science, illusion, and more importantly, an art. Bring the three subjects together, and city-based Tehzeeb Khurana will introduce you to a completely different form of visual magic - animation. Founder of Toon Club, a part of animation studio Climb Media that was founded in 1971 in Mumbai, Khurana has been bringing the magical cards of animation to schools across the city for over two decades.

In the hands-on workshop, kids will learn to make

"I have been in the industry for over 25 years. In this time, I have come across so many animators who will know how to use the software required to animate, but what's missing is the art of telling a story through it. Hence, I founded Toon Club, wherein we go to schools and host workshops that introduce children [seven to 18 years] to the world of animation through storytelling." The animation director has hosted several workshops at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, and has also introduced animation as part of the curriculum for students at Ecole Mondiale World School in Juhu. For the first time, she will be taking her one and a half hour-long workshop to Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum this Saturday.

"The most common thing I have noticed is that when I ask students about their idea of animation, they usually respond by saying that it is related to cartoons," she laughs, adding that she particularly enjoys when children find out what animation really means, and how they can create magic by using applying a Physics law as simple as persistence of vision. "I teach them how to create a thaumatrope [one of oldest methods of animation]. Sometimes, I am amazed by what kids come up with. Once, a student created a dragon on one side of the paper-disc and fire on the other, and when you pull the strings, it looks like the dragon is spewing fire out of its mouth. It is so difficult to draw fire exactly where the dragon's mouth is."

Thaumatrope as Khurana tells them about the evolution of animation over the years

Emphasising on why she thinks it is important to introduce kids to animation, Khurana tells us that it encourages creative thinking. Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, director of the Byculla museum, agrees. "Storytelling serves as a powerful avenue for connecting with people and fostering empathy. The workshops at the Museum look for creative ways to explore narrative forms. In this workshop, participants will not only learn about the fundamentals and history of animation, but also get to create their own thaumatropes and phenakistoscopes - the earliest forms of animation. This hands-on experience is designed to empower and encourage them to tell their stories innovatively, fostering self-expression and igniting creativity," Mehta explains.

Khurana will begin with sharing about the evolution of animation. She will move on to showing them how it can be practised with minimal tools. "I always try to integrate things the children learn in other subjects like maths, history and science into my workshops, and how they define movement, which is the core of animation. While it is not necessary for kids to pursue animation, it is definitely a skill to know. And in case children want to take it up ahead as a career, my workshops act as an introduction to this visual world," she signs off.

Age group: 8 to 16 years
On: November 25; 4 pm to 5.30 pm
At: Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Education Centre, Veer Mata Jijabai Bhonsle Udyan, Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Road, Byculla East.
Email: education@bdlmuseum.org (for registration)
Cost: Rs 100