Gen Z - Art of Roaching

 

I attended an Anime event held at New Delhi’s Yashobhoomi on Saturday the 6^th June, 2026 where at a kiosk, a GenZ kid made out a sketch that made me look 40 years younger! After the girl had finished sketching (it had taken her nearly 15 minutes for a sketch that perhaps could have been finished in under 5 minutes).  However, finding the sketch off the mark, I asked her jokingly, ‘Is this my sketch’? She smiled and retorted ‘Yes, that’s how I find you, isnt’ it perfect?’!  The confidence, and the child-like innocence of the kid amazed me!  She was 100% sure she had done a great job!  This left me puzzled and made me wonder, what a generation! 

On the same day at Jantar Mantar the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a purportedly GenZ political enterprise staged a dharna drawing attention to the education sector reforms, unemployment and other matters that concerned the youth of the country.  While politics and dharnas have not been an area of interest for me but in the wake of the a large GenZ base support for CJP, I am inclined to scribble a take on the life and times we live in today.

With a population of about 1.45 billion, India now has world’s largest Generation Z population (a generation born between 1997 and 2012) that makes this country possess one of the youngest work forces in comparison to other countries of the world. A quick comparison indicates that today India possesses an employable work force out of which 43 to 55% are graduates and 1/3^rd of the entire population is below 25 years of age!

However, the overall employment scenario for youth seems dismal as we lack strong apprenticeship systems, close industry academia collabs and a general lack of focus on strong soft skills and practical training that makes youth available but unemployable.  A general sense of helplessness and depression seems to be spreading over young minds that is leading to exhibition of unrest and dis-trust towards the system.

Since gaining Independence, India has more or less continued with the British set school system that could only roll out manpower that focused on white collar jobs.  Lack of focus on skill development and a trust on government jobs further led to eroding of confidence for entrepreneurship or self-employment for youth passing out from schools and universities.

Gen Z has emerged as a generation where parents are more empowered in comparison to the earlier generations but helpless when it came to taking clear decisions in respect of education, discipline and employment for their wards. They perhaps wish to grant their children a sense of freedom that they themselves missed while growing up. Easy handy money, freedom for entertainment and a hollow sense of joy out of materialism, a leaf out from the West! Thus, GenZ stands as a section of population that wishes to see results quickly and with less efforts. Reel life has overtaken young minds and quick success with lesser responsibility seems to be their line of thought.  Attention deficit and lack of awareness for details seems to be way of things for this generation.  Global down turn in growth and employment has further stressed up matters and has become a major source of discontent to the Gen-Z in our country.

However, the silver lining is that we need not be hopeless.  The CJP rally showed that Gen Z may be wayward in their mannerism but they cannot be fooled. They reflected a sense of purpose and confidence.  They wanted to air their views and had concern for environment, cleanliness, social trust and development, Instead of scoring political points, Gen Z should be made as focal point for communication that should transform India. They should be made the sails by ruling dispensation as well as opposition to steer the ship of India towards success.

The huge bank of manpower should be made use of for monitoring social programs of government. Let them record, monitor deviations and be made part of the machinery to ensure success of reforms, policies and action.  They perhaps should be allotted spaces in Assemblies and Parliament (even as visitors in visitor galleries) to listen to leaders interact with their branches and downlines.  Let them be part of a machinery that spreads positive messages providing a  forward looking commentary on our life and times.

It is time to harness the Youth energy and make them pillars of change for making India a great country.  Gen Z requires guidance and mentoring.  Let their leaders not assume that they can hijack the minds of Gen Z in any direction they wish to but on the other hand India needs Gen Z to pick youth leaders who actually be ready to join government machinery  to bring in revolutionary changes in ways that can lead to higher skill development, employability and grown of our great nation.

Anime: Building new Worlds and Heroes

Anime: Building new Worlds and Heroes

History is witness to civilisations that narrated stories. Stories, that were painted on cave walls, passed down generations through word of mouth, etched on palm leaves, weaved into songs or depicted on pottery and performed through theatre. Stories that bore testimony through proofs on temple walls through murals and art mediums. 

In the 20^th Century, humanity discovered a new way to tell stories, through anime, a medium that has captured global imagination.  Anime refers to the distinctive style of animation that originated in Japan and has evolved into a global entertainment phenomenon. As storytelling evolved in other parts of the world through multifarious mediums, animated story telling emerged in Japan as early as the 1910s and through 1960s it took shape in to pioneering works through the efforts of Osamu Tezuka, whose Astro Boyestablished innumerable visual and narrative conventions that is in use till today.

While India has its own rich tradition of visual story, Japanese anime began making a noticeable impact in the 1990s through television broadcast of shows such as Tracking Ball Z, Pokémon, Doraemon and Naruto. These series introduced Indian audiences to distinctive style of animation, characterised by complex narratives, emotional depth and memorable characters. The rise of satellite television followed by internet, streaming platforms, and social media has transformed anime into a mainstream cultural phenomenon and has brought in its distinct impact on the youth in India. 

There is a big scope for Indian artists for exploring opportunities to blend anime and its integration with indigenous themes, mythology, and folklore for creating unique fusion that will reflect both India’s historical storytelling roots and the global appeal of Indian anime around the world.

The anime industry is today valued at nearly USD 38 billion and this projected to be more than double over the next decade. Streaming platforms, international audiences, and merchandising are major drivers of this growth. The key trends in Anime include global storytelling that is incorporating cultural settings and characters. A lot of creators from outside Japan are producing an inspired content and there is a diverse representation which has become common standard. AI tools like background generation, colouring, animation, assistance, and workflow optimisation has brought a revolution to this industry. Franchises that revolve around memorable characters, genres merchandise, games, collectibles, and spinoff have virtually given this industry a big boost. Intellectual property development too has also become a major business model in this industry. Hybrid 2 and 3-D animation styles are increasingly becoming common with advanced character creations and Avatar tech technologies that are expanding opportunities for interactive anime experiences. Modern audience are increasingly preferring nuanced characters with flaws, vulnerabilities, and complex motivations, rather than simple heroes and villains that is a huge area of interest for patrons and followers of this genre.

The scope for creating original anime characters is immense. The areas of high potential include the Indian mythology with background of Indian epics, folklores, African mythology, Celtic legends, and indigenous traditions. Climate change, prohibition, and ecological themes that remain under represented in mainstream Anime also has huge potential through character representation of forests, biodiversity, indigenous wisdom that can strongly resonate with young audiences.

While most of anime protagonists are teenagers, there is considerable creative space for older heroes, retired professional professionals, spiritual seekers, and wise elders, basking on meaningful and memorable journeys through anime. The intersection of artificial intelligence, ethics, memory, and identity offers scope for unique character development. Culture and traditions of Kerala also offer unique opportunity for artists to create new anime characters through depiction of Kerala Temple culture, Kathakali performances, Elephant caretakers, traditional healers, tribal culture etc, that offer narratives rarely seen in global anime.

Memorable anime characters typically combine elements that have distinct visual appeal that provide instant recognition. The characters have unique back story that provide emotional connection through conflicts that help in character growth and there is underlying signature that provides memorability to the characters and the story. There is also a personal philosophy, that has depth and conveys elements of strong relationships giving fillip to the development of the story that include flaws and weaknesses providing the required depth to the characters of the story.

Anime is not merely a style of drawing. It is an art from capable of transforming emotions into images, myths into adventures, and dreams into living words. Despite cultural differences, anime speaks of universal human experiences through Hope, Courage, Friendship, Sacrifice, Identity, Love and Redemption. It invites audience into a world where real spirits walk among humans through machine processed information wherein friendships are enabled to move mountains, and where ordinary people discover extraordinary Destinies.

Today, anime has become a worldwide cultural force. Yet, its greatest opportunity and strength is yet to be unfolded. The creation of entirely new characters and stories inspired by cultures and landscapes are yet to appear in mainstream animation.