John W. Hickenlooper, Honorable Mayor of Denver, Colorado

(Reprinted from the Foreword of the book "East Meets West: The Animation of Manick Sorcar", by Wendy Luna. ISBN 978-0-578-05404-9)

March 15, 2010:

It is an honor and a pleasure for me to write the Foreword of this valuable book. I have known Manick Sorcar for several years now because of his breathtaking lighting designs for many of the Mile High City's iconic structures, including schools, colleges, Denver International Airport, the Colorado Convention Center and the Denver Justice Center, to name a few. Sorcar's artistic endeavors have brightly lit up Denver skyline. An author of many lighting design texts utilized by universities around the world, his contribution to our City and nation is considerable.

But this is only a small fraction of the contributions actually made by this multifaceted man. Sorcar is a true modern day renaissance man. A skilled artist, award-winning animator and accomplished laser-artist, each of Sorcar's designs has made a significant contribution to our society, giving him international recognition. This book only deals with one facet of Manick Sorcar: the animation man, whose amazing work on Indian fairy tales has cast a spell on American audiences for almost two decades. In Colorado alone, the Rocky Mountain PBS television station has shown his animation films yearly since 1991, as a year-end holiday-special delight.

What makes each of Sorcar's animations a masterpiece is the depth of passion that goes into their making. Each is a labor of love that helps introduce the culture of India to our children, paving a way to understand the other side of the globe and offering friendship at a grassroots level. They teach that diversity is an asset and what bonds each of us together, regardless of where we grow up, is the common thread of humanity.

This book is indeed a treasure in the multifaceted wealth of our great nation. It is a tribute to Manick Sorcar, whose animation for the last two decades has both entertained and educated us about India, her culture, her people - all together, a true cultural bridge between East and West, which has made Denver, the United States and India proud.

Sincerely,

John W. Hickenlooper
Mayor
Denver, Colorado

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Related Links:
India Blooms
Indian Animator's Work Gets Unusual Tribute