NEW DELHI: “I want to draw the sun,” said 12-year-old Navya (name changed). She was promptly handed over a crayon by a volunteer and she immediately started examining it. After being assured that it was indeed a yellow crayon, she started working on her masterpiece. She didn’t know that the Sunday morning was cloudy. She is visually impaired.

Nayva was among ten children like her who were frantically creating their artwork at Pragati Maidan in a painting programme organised by the organisation Inside Me in collaboration with National Book Trust during the ongoing World Book Fair. This year’s theme of the fair is “books for readers with special needs”.

“In this workshop, they will draw what they know,” said P Shivani Bharadwaj, founder of Inside Me, while guiding the children to their tables after wishing them a Happy New Year. The organisation had brought the children from two schools — Institute for the Blind and Janta Adarsh Andh Vidyalaya — to showcase their artistic skills.

Sitting around three circular tables, the children concentrated on their pink and yellow sheets attached to specially-designed mesh boards. “These embossed boards help them use their fingertips as their eyes. Their drawings are a result of them using their other senses,” said Bharadwaj.

“We use the crayon as a tool to teach them art. Most of them have never held a crayon before in their life. They use braille pens, so sometimes it’s difficult for them to train their hands to get the right grip. But they are extremely determined to learn,” Bharadwaj added. A number of framed artworks, all made by visually impaired children, lined the wall behind her.

After completing her drawing, Navya went over it with her fingers to ensure that it was circular in shape. Once satisfied, she wrote her name. Sumit (name changed), who was sitting opposite Navya, wasn’t successful in spelling his name correctly. Bharadwaj gently asked him to identify his mistake and he ran his finger over the crayon impression till he found what was wrong and corrected it.

“They are very particular and often check their drawings to make sure that the shapes are correct and the lines proportionate. As the crayons emboss the paper, they can use their fingers to figure out which part of the paper has been left empty,” said Nikku Chahil, a volunteer.

Explaining her motivation behind the project, Bharadwaj said, “Drawing is a new concept in India for blind children. Though they are aware of rectangles and squares, they lack visual conceptualisation. We hope to change that. The world is very different outside their school gates. We hope to develop a sense of awareness about their surroundings with the help of drawing. One day we hope drawing is introduced as a subject for these children.”

Source: The Times of India jan 7, 2019 Delhi edition