Indian Animation’s legendary animator and the creator of Doordarshan logo, Professor RL Mistry dies on Tuesday evening at Ahmedabad. He was 77. Known as the pioneer of the Indian animation industry, his well-known work was the design of the Doordarshan logo animation which united the whole nation. He was also a professor and a former faculty at National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad.

The iconic logo was designed by NID alumnus Devashish Bhattacharya along with eight of his friends after Doordarshan moved out of being a subset of its parent company, the All India Radio (AIR) and decided that it wanted its own symbol which would be a visual rendering of its independent identity. However, the logo’s animation was done by Mistry.

Saddened by his demise, NID director Praveen Nahar paid homage to Mistry on Wednesday along with the fraternity. He said, “He was a man of few words and a pioneer of animation education. He was one of the first teachers of animation at NID, who has inspired and shaped so many animators in India.”

An alumnus of Faculty of Fine Arts of MS University of Baroda, Mistry completed his PG diploma from NID and joined the reputed institute as a junior designer in 1969. He retired as an associate senior designer in 2003. Later, he was associated with NID and many other institutions as visiting faculty.

The Indian Animation industry mourns deeply at the demise of a legend.