Artist Chintamani Hasabnis has been painting since 1990. However, the last four years have been special to him as he started creating art that enabled the visually impaired to see. To do this, the 52-year-old artist made art that focussed on texture to produce a 3D-style effect, which could be touched and felt. “Art like theatre, cinema and painting is very visual. Conversing with art has its own benefits,” said Hasabnis, “It is a universal medium and should be open to all.”

In 2015, when the Nehru Centre in Mumbai hosted his exhibition, several visually impaired art enthusiasts were impressed with his painting of Pandit Ravi Shankar. The raised strings of the sitar added textures, which on touch, allowed the visually impaired audience members to appreciate the image. “When I touched it, I felt different emotions rushing through my heart, as I tried to piece together everything that I had read about the particular painting,” said Uttam Margaj, a probationary officer at State Bank of India in the city, who attended Hasabnis’s exhibition at Balgandharva Rangmandir last year. The exhibition, said Margaj, was visually impaired-friendly also because there was information in braille next to the 3D-style paintings.

This evening, Hasabnis, will discuss how his paintings managed to communicate with the blind, at a talk organised by Sutradhar, a self-funded set-up, which launched earlier this year. Sutradhar has also roped in city-based colour therapist Namrata Sharma to talk about healing with colours. Colours, for her, are a medium of expression and a mould to gauge emotions. “Colours are an age-old science. They are responsible for releasing certain chemicals in the brain that help people express. When experimenting with colours, a person understands his mettle. This comprehension then paves a way for healing,” said Sharma, who studied at the International Board of Alternative Medicine in Kolkata before she began her independent services.

Sharma will also discuss her journey from an engineering student to an animator and finally into the world of varicoloured healing. The crux of this therapy lies in understanding what people need, their “vibrations” and transferring them onto the canvas. She has employed these healing measures at Cipla Palliative Care, where she volunteers once a week.

Preceding the talk is a dance performance, driven by the traditional story-telling style of kirtan, by the founders of Sutradhar — Toshal Gandhi, 25, Madhura Aphale, 26, — who are trained kathak dancers. “Kirtan is a prevalent form in the state. The abhangas and bhajans inspire people through words that refer to god and daily life. The element of drama makes it pleasing to watch as stories unfold in words and performances,” Gandhi said. Gandhi and Aphale will be joined by friends and Sutradhar members, Vallarie Apte, 25 and Natasha Poonawala, 28, for the fiveminute performance.