The Hindu Business Line : Art of giving

ASHOK LEYLAND’S CORPORATE OFFICE in Chennai will soon have a new address. And, the walls of the 10-storey green building will be decorated with paintings made by children from the Spastic Society of India – Vidya Sagar. Aware of the talents of the special children, thanks to the calendars and greeting cards commissioned in the past, the “new corporate office presented a large canvas of opportunity to once again engage with the kids”, said a company spokesperson.

The office will house nearly 40 paintings to begin with and Jacob, a professional artist from Cholamandalam Artists’ village, has been invited to be part of this initiative. Apart from artistic expression, this “unforgettable” experience for Jacob has also been a lesson in team-work. “I began understanding each one of them individually; their self-identification through their movements, lines, colour and texture,” he says. Subsequently, he formed symbiotic groups.

For example, some kids could only paint dots, some could swirl colours together to a magical effect while yet another child could express himself only through line drawings. So, first the canvas was washed with the imagination of the child who swirls different colours and then embellished with dots and line drawings for the final piece.

“The children were aware that their paintings would be displayed at one of the biggest corporate houses in South India,” says Jacob. Vidya Sagar found that this project not just exposed hitherto latent capabilities, but also proved to be therapeutic for the children and given them the much-needed confidence.

Besides reaching out to differently-able children, this exercise also aims to be an inspiration for Ashok Leyland’s employees. Says R. Seshasayee, Managing Director, “They are an inspiration to anyone for the grit they show in overcoming what the rest of us consider insurmountable obstacles to express themselves so splendidly.”

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