Artistic excellence
Twenty-year-old Pragadeesh Thiyagarajan has put his love for dates, numbers and art together to design a table calendar.
“Pragadeesh, who is on the spectrum, has the uncanny ability to instantly give the exact day of any date in any year that is given to him. He is also good at sequencing and dabbles in painting. The calendar project showcases all that he is adept at, and this exercise seems to go a long way towards boosting his confidence,” says Nirmala Thiyagarajan, Pragadeesh’s mother.
(Clockwise from top right) Pragadeesh with an art work, a table top calendar, Amrita and a 2021 planner. Photos: Special Arrangement
Another reason for choosing to design and market calendars is to encourage him to put all the lessons he has learnt to practice. Pragadeesh is a second-year visual communication student of Kumararani Meena Muthiah College of Arts and Science in Adyar and has also been learning multimedia from AIMS Media.
“His mentor K. Gowri Shankar has been encouraging us to get him to take up some independent project and that is how we came up with this initiative,” says Nirmala.
Pragadeesh has used patterns to creatively design home décor, cutlery in his work.
Fifty copies were printed and all of them have been booked.
“I did not expect such a response, so we have placed orders for re-printing,” says Nirmala, adding that she posted details about her son’s work in two parent support groups – SCAN and VOICE – that she is part of.
“We look at this as a big encouragement for our son in his journey towards becoming independent,” she says.
The calendar is priced at ₹250 (for those in Chennai) and can be ordered by calling 9940347472.
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Financial independence
More than 40 adults from five Chennai-based institutions have partnered for Project SNEH (Special Needs Empowerment Hub), a network for the special needs community, to design various marketable products that would make an ideal gift for the New Year.
The institutions are: Sankalp, Sarva Mangala Vihar Trust, Sri Arunodhayam Charitable Trust, Swabhimaan and V-Excel Educational Trust.
“Students of Gowrin Special School, SpasTN and HLC International School also joined us recently,” says Anuradha Mahesh, team lead. The network also invites parents of special children to join them so that they can market products of adults with special needs, and work towards ensuring their financial independence.
To place an order, call 9840076322 / 9884281527. Visit www.snehindia.com for further details.
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A decade into art
This is the 10th year Amrita Visweswaran is using art to give back to society. As a six-year-old, she started designing calendars with her artworks on it. The proceeds of the sale of these calendars would go to The Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children (now a part of Bala Mandir Kamaraj Trust); and this journey has continued to this day.
MNC provides early intervention services for children with intellectual disability, and the proceeds from the sale of this calendar go towards Mooldhara, a project it runs.
The 2021 version of the desktop calendar has evocative paintings — including sunset and sunrise — that illustrate the theme ‘New Beginnings’.
“Every year, she chooses a new theme — flowers, pets, scenic settings are some of them — for the calendar series,” says Madhura Visweswaran, Amrita’s mother.
Pocket notebooks and playing cards are a few other products that are sold.
To place an order, call 9840074621
