SHIMLA: Indian short film Director Kartiki Gonsalves and Producer Guneet Monga scrip history by winning India’s first Oscar of 2023 for their short film, The Elephant Whispers for the best documentary short film at 29th Academy Awards announced today.
Kartiki Gonsalves is the daughter of the former director IIT Mandi Professor Timothy A Gonsalves.
IIT Mandi has all the more reason to celebrate as Kartiki has stayed at Kamand campus with her father.
There are celebrations not only in the IIT Mandi campus at Kamand, but also in entire Himachal Pradesh as Prof Timothy was the longest serving and founder director of IIT Mandi.
Prof Gonsalves, an acclaimed academician of Global repute, was instrumental in taking IIT Mandi from its infancy to the higher academic levels during his long tenure.
He grounded IIT Mandi into the Himalayan soil and created its own niche among the then newer IITs. It was no small task to establish a new institution in the remote hills, say academicians.
Prof Gonsalves had dreamt of making IIT Mandi in Himachal as a "hub of world class green technology, solar, biomass and wastes".
Now his daughter's film on "animal world" has brought laurels to India and Himachal, which has a deep connect with the Prof Gonsalves' Family.
Kartiki has dedicated her award to the Motherland of India in her acceptance speech at the Academy Award ceremony.
She said she stood here today to speak for the sacred bond between respect for indigenous community and Empathy towards other living beings, who share space with for coexistence.
Kartiki also thanked the Academy for recognizing her short film highlighting the indigenous people and animals.
She also thanked the Netflix for believing in her power of film making.
She also thanked her teams for shaping their sacred wisdom and producer Guneet Monga.
She also dedicated the award to the mentor and the entire team and her mother, father and sister who are there at the Centre of her universe and to the Motherland of India.
