Every year, 16-year-old Amrita Visweswaran creates a calendar for a cause. She paints during her summer holidays — in acrylic, mostly — and selects six of her works of art to be featured as part of the calendar. She donates proceeds from the sale of these calendars towards Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children (MNC), an organisation that provides early intervention services for children with intellectual disability and associated conditions and disabilities. Amrita is the granddaughter of N Kumar the founder of MNC, who, along with a few others, initiated research into a structured programme for children with autism spectrum disorder, Downs’ Syndrome, cerebral palsy, and developmental delay.
Amrita has been into art from the time she was three-and-a-half, and according to her mother Madhura Visweswaran, sees art as a means to help other people. This year, due to the pandemic, things were difficult financially for some families with new-borns and children aged two years, in the early intervention group of MNC. To do her bit for them, Amrita created a range of products such as notebooks, playing cards, and art books.
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Says Madhura, “All of these have been printed locally using locally-sourced paper,” adding that prices have been kept at a nominal range so that everyone can afford the products. “She will be donating the entire amount from the sales towards MNC,” explains Madhura. “For her, getting the name of MNC and the cause out is more important than gaining recognition for her art work.”
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