Despite blindness, brain tumour, Hyderabad girl Aishwarya pursues art with undefeatable passion

Hyderabad: How does it feel to live with a brain tumour, which may turn out to be malignant? How does it feel to be blinded when the tumour destroys the optic nerves? How does it feel to lose both parents to cancer in one’s teenage years? For almost anyone, such physically challenging experiences would not only be unnerving but also psychologically crippling.

But undaunted by these incapacitating ailments, TV Aishwarya (33) ensured that these challenges do not stop her from bringing out her latent talents. She managed to live her dreams and make a difference in the lives of other visually impaired people through her creative 3D artworks.

Aishwarya, a resident of Alwal, was barely 19 years of age, studying mass communication and filmmaking at Loyola Degree and PG College in 2008, when she was diagnosed with a 3.6 cm tumour in the brain.

She had already lost her mother, who was a lecturer, when she was 10 years old and her father, who was a banker, at 15. Both succumbed to cancer. Her elder sister, after marriage, has been living in Kerala. Aishwarya has been living with her stepmother Lillian Vijayakumar, a retired Central government employee, who has supported Aishwarya throughout her journey.

Making art accessible

Due to the position of the tumour, a biopsy could not be done and to date, Aishwarya is unaware whether the tumour is benign or malignant. “I had taken homoeopathy treatment from Dr Renuka Katta. I still go for follow-ups every fortnight. The tumour has reduced to 1.9 cm now but without a biopsy, we won’t know if it is malignant with chances of recurrence in future. Initially, I had double vision, an excruciating headache, nausea and lost weight. Subsequently, the ailment caused optic atrophy, damaging the nerves that connect the brain to the eyes. So, it led to irreversible blindness. I just have the perception of the direction of light. That is all,” says Aishwarya, who has been working as a counsellor at LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) since 2013 and operates the helpline for the visually challenged.

Though Aishwarya had to give up filmmaking, she continues to write content and scripts for CSR projects at LVPEI. “I have a colleague, Vinay, who is a sound editor and creates audiobooks for the visually impaired. Together we do media projects. I can still do script-writing and editing and giving directions because I have the perception about things and can imagine the colours as well,” says Aishwarya, who is also into 3D painting to make art understandable to the sightless.

“In India, though the visually challenged people have scope for education and employment, I notice there is not much opportunity to pursue art and the refined things of life. So, in future, I would like to open a gallery of 3D paintings, models and artworks, which the public can appreciate and it would also generate interest in the visually impaired to take up art,” says Aishwarya.

App for the visually challenged

Elaborating on her tryst with painting, Aishwarya says, “In 2018, I was invited to an art gallery. The canvases appeared blank to me and that is when I decided to make the art 3-dimensional so that sightless people can touch and understand them. I used paper, leaves, beads, and aluminium foils to give my artworks and paintings a 3D effect and glued them to the canvas. I prefer to use acrylic and my fingers for painting. For colours, I take help from an app made for the visually challenged called Spacefelt. One needs to scan the QR code and record a description of the required colour. If the phone camera is pointed to the QR labels, the voice recording enables me to choose the colours.”

“I am also an advisor for Spacefelt, made by Grailmaker Innovations Company. I feel more visually impaired Indians should be aware of such apps to move around independently as I do. The app will help them understand the layout and navigate rooms and public spaces without depending on others. This will make them feel secure and confident,” adds Aishwarya.

Aishwarya’s artworks are interesting and are a varied expression of her imagination and creative mind. Some of her notable works are titled Cinderella, Harry Potter, The Writer, In the Making, Nestled, An Evening in Paris, 3D models of the human heart, Titanic and Pyramids, a series of 3D Emoticons and many more. She takes about a day to a month to finish an artwork, depending on the complexity of the project.

“Next, I want to work on the Colosseum and models of some of the Seven Wonders of the World,” says Aishwarya, who has participated in nearly 10 art exhibitions including Art for Inclusion at Bengaluru in 2019 and had conducted a workshop for 16 visually impaired people at LVPEI.

“Dr Beula Christy, head of the Institute for Vision Rehabilitation at LVPEI has always supported me and has great confidence in my work. Many of my paintings are also displayed there,” says Aishwarya, whose hobbies include listening to audio descriptions of movies on Netflix, and spending time with nature and her dog, Courage.

So how does Aishwarya overcome the challenges? “The ailment and consequent blindness have been life-altering for me. But I found positivity in a negative situation. I managed to rise beyond them and my artworks definitely make me happy and satisfied,” she concludes.