BRATATI BARAL, OP
A gifted autistic child, Sarthak Dwivedi has won prizes for painting, singing and debating
Autism is a developmental disorder, but many children have overcome the problem. Meet Sarthak Dwivedi from Bhubaneswar, a young painter who has received an award from the Orissa State Council for Child Welfare for his art. The ten-year-old was not autistic from birth but met with an accident when he was only three which led to him becoming autistic. However, the talented child has notched up several achievements. Orissa POST caught up with Sarthak and his parents recently.
Son of Sumati and Kailash Dwivedi, Sarthak is a Class IV student of Acharya Vihar Primary School in Bhubaneswar. He learns painting from Ghanashyam Pradhan, dance from Mangovinda Nayak and instrumental music from Basudev Moharana.
Besides winning the state-level painting competition conducted by the Orissa State Council for Child Welfare, Bhubaneswar, he has bagged several prizes in singing competitions.
Since the soft-spoken child does not like to interact with strangers, it is tough for people to begin a conversation with him.
However, this reporter managed to talk to him with the help of his parents. Asked about his first public performance, Sarthak hesitantly said, “When I was five years old, I participated for the first time in a local drama.”
The multitalented Sarthak is also a keyboard player. He got the chance to play the keyboard at a concert organised at the India Gate in New Delhi on the eve of World Disabled Day last year. He played ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ and earned wide applause from the audience.
Recently, Sarthak secured the first position in a singing competition and second position in a debate competition in state level events organised by the ‘We for You’ organisation in Bhubaneswar. He is also a good cricketer. Last year, he performed well in a cricket league meant for disabled children organised by Swabhiman, the social organization for persons with disabilities founded by Dr Sruti Mohapatra. Sarthak has also been felicitated by socio-cultural organization Kasturi for his talent.
Sarthak’s mother Sumati Dwivedi said, “When Sarthak was merely three years old, he banged his head on a TV set and was severely injured. He was in pain, so we rushed him to the hospital and he was treated for many days. After he recovered, we observed that he was behaving in an unusual manner. It was difficult for us to believe that our son was autistic. But that was the hard truth.”
“We did not lose patience and tried our best to provide him the best treatment but finally we had to accept his disability,” she added.
Recently, Sarthak secured the first position in singing, fancy dress, art and dance in a series of competitions at an event titled ‘Prativa O Manthan’ organised by Swabhiman. Besides extra curricular activities, he is also a meritorious student.
Asked what he likes to do in his leisure time, he said, “I love to sing along with downloaded music tracks on my mobile phone.”
“I like my class teacher Baidehi Sahoo. I wish my mother will always stay by my side in all that I do,” he added.
“We have great expectations from him. I know he is autistic, but we are hopeful. My son is talented. I consider myself lucky to have him as our son,” Sumati said.
