On World Autism Awareness Day, let’s celebrate the art of a talented, resilient artist
Some of Sahil Baghdadi’s artworks that will be displayed at the exhibition
When he was barely three, Sahil Baghdadi began to show symptoms of autism, leaving his mother Alka concerned. “It was the early 1990s, and we were not aware of the condition. I had never heard of autism until then nor had I read anything about it,” shares Alka. She made it her mission to collect all the information she could about the disorder, even giving up her journalism career to invest time in bringing up her son.
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Sahil and Alka Baghdadi
To commemorate World Autism Awareness Day (April 2), Alka Baghdadi has organised an exhibition in the city that will display the art made by her son, Sahil. Over 50 of his paintings will be on display at the venue. “We knew Sahil was good at art, but we never focused on it. The lockdown worked in our favour as it gave us a lot of time to invest in other things other than our usual day jobs. Sahil worked on his art skills and it turned out to be great. In this period, Sahil was able to make 60 to 70 paintings on his own,” shares Alka. She shared that Atypical Advantage, a Jharkhand-based online platform that showcases the talent of differently-abled people and generates livelihood for them, showed interest in some of Sahil’s paintings and displayed them on their platform. It encouraged Alka to nudge Sahil to pursue his passion. Currently, 30-year-old Sahil is working across creative fields with Kshitij, an NGO that provides a sheltered nurturing workplace to adults with intellectual disabilities.
Today, Alka works as a training staff member with The Anchorage, an NGO that aims to provide vocational training and job opportunities to differently-abled adults. “I travelled to Bengaluru to train in autism care. It involves communication skills, behavioural skills as well as social skills. As I learnt more about the condition, I saw countless people displaying different symptoms and behaviour, and dealing with diverse problems,” she revealed.
“It isn’t easy but acceptance is the most important step for parents. I accepted it wholeheartedly, and started Sahil’s training and rehabilitation as soon as possible. Today’s generation of parents is lucky to have many accessible diagnoses because of proper awareness. The younger the kids are, the easier it is to train them to be independent,” advised Alka.
On: April 1, 6 pm (inauguration); April 2 to 4, 11 am to 8 pm
At: Mumbai Press Club, Glass House, Mahapalika Marg, Azad Maidan, Fort.
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