Interview: The Making of the Tree Monster Print Able interviewed Cherian Joseph, a talented young man who co-directed his first short film, “Vrisksha Rakshas” (Tree Monster). Editor’s note: Watch the short film to add richness and context to the interview. He completed a course in Communication Design from the National Institute of Design, Kurukshetra. Cherian shared that he was selected to NID based on his originality in solving the given problem. With pride, he shared his first Malayalam short film “Vrisksha Rakshas” (Tree Monster) with his art teacher. Back in 2018, his art teacher Ashwini had recognized his creativity and his unique approach to art, which was a blend of personal experience and style. Cherian wrote the screenplay and co-directed the film. In addition, he is also the protagonist. The concept of Vriksha Rakshas was inspired by Malayalam folklore where ghosts are chained by the trees. “The movie explores who is really the tree monster,” shared Cherian. He talks about...

 Short Film: The Tree Monster . Cherian Joseph completed a course in Communication Design from the National Institute of Design, Kurukshetra. With pride, he shared his first Malayalam short film “Vrisksha Rakshas” (Tree Monster) with his art teacher. Back in 2018, his art teacher Ashwini had recognized his creativity and his unique approach to art, which was a blend of personal experience and style. Cherian wrote the screenplay and co-directed the film. In addition, he is also the protagonist. Click on the video below to watch the short film. It draws the audience in from the first frame and lingers with you long after you have finished watching.  The film is directed by Aastha Goel and Cherian Joseph. Cherian is currently working on the screenplay for his second film which will be significantly longer in duration. Click here to read his interview where he shares his journey of making his first film. 

 Vedanth's Creative Portfolio We, at Print Able, are delighted to share Vedanth’s creative portfolio in collaboration with Sense Kaleidoscopes.  Check out Vedanth's artwork showcased in the video below: The titles and descriptions are carefully created by the curation team of Sense Kaleidoscopes. They create them based on the long-term relationships they build with each of their artists. Over time, through many conversations—sometimes even over months—they begin to understand the emotions, thoughts, and inner worlds that inform the artists' creative work. They make detailed audio/video documentation and maintain a data map to ensure that what finally reaches the world reflects the most accurate and authentic expression of each student’s intent and personality.

Interview: Experiencing Inclusion in Social Work Shrusti Raj Print Able interviewed Shrusti Raj, a young man with a passion for social work. He has been associated with an NGO called Youth for Parivarthan (YFP) for about eleven years. “Before we focused only on Mandala arts. …then we did portraits. We started off with Swami Vivekananda, Mysore Maharaja Wodeyar and celebrities like Puneeth Rajkumar… The idea was that with the art on the wall, it will reduce littering and discourage people from urinating in public” Click on the link below to listen to the complete interview where he shares his experience of working with YFP. He he started off at YFP, engaging with activities related to art and slowly evolved to taking up more responsibilities. He is now a reliable member of the core group. He also shared that Prime Minister Modi appreciated the work done by YFP in his Mann ki Baat . A former student of Brindavan Education Trust, he shared his experience of volunteering for Youth for P...

 Rohit's Creative Portfolio We, at Print Able, are delighted to share Rohit’s creative portfolio in collaboration with Sense Kaleidoscopes.  Check out Rohit's artwork showcased in the video below: The titles and descriptions are carefully created by the curation team of Sense Kaleidoscopes. They create them based on the long-term relationships they build with each of their artists. Over time, through many conversations—sometimes even over months—they begin to understand the emotions, thoughts, and inner worlds that inform the artists' creative work. They make detailed audio/video documentation and maintain a data map to ensure that what finally reaches the world reflects the most accurate and authentic expression of each student’s intent and personality.

  Art Gallery: Digital Art by Rohith Rohith is a 25-year-old non-verbal individual on the autism spectrum. He currently attends vocational training at the Amogh Centre and pursues illustration design training at Ishanya India. His journey and art is shared by his mother: Rohith was diagnosed with autism at the age of 1.5 years. In his early years, he was extremely hyperactive and struggled with making eye contact. As he was unable to express emotions verbally, he would resort to screaming when overwhelmed. From early days, Rohith showed a lot of interest in drawing. Unlike most children, he preferred watching advertisements over television shows. He also likes to hoard soft drinks like Fanta and Coca-Cola—not to drink them though. He has a similar habit of collecting biscuits and sweets, preferring to keep them rather than eating it. Over the years, with consistent speech and behavioural therapy, along with learning support at home, Rohith has shown great progress. Today, he ex...

Art Gallery: Gyan Unni's Favourite Characters  Gyan Unni loves to draw and here are some of his favourite characters from books and graphic stories. Gyan loves colours and dislikes junk food. Gyan is currently enrolled at the Centre for Autism and other Disabilities Rehabilitation, Research and Education (CADRRE).

Devarnama Song by Lavanya Print.Able spoke to Lavanya, a young talented singer who is studying music in Bengaluru. She shared how she got into music: “My teachers in school used to say I sing well in the school programs, so I chose music to do my further studies. My favorite type of composition is a Daevarnama.” We also have a clip of Lavanya singing “ Tamburi meetidava,” a Daevarnama composed by Purandara Dasa ,  which you can find below! 

My Calm: Music, Sports, and My Dogs  by K. K., a fifteen year old student shared the different channels she has discovered to alleviate stress and anxiety.  I love listening to music and singing—it calms me, and people say I’m good at it. It makes me happy. I also enjoy running, swimming, and squash because they help me feel better when I’m stressed. Reading, writing, and talking to people can be tiring, so at 6:00 PM, my Alexa reminder tells me to listen to music.  I love soft, melodious music. I have been taking singing classes for the past 7 years. My favourite musicians include Shreya Goshal, Chitra, Taylor Swift and Camilia Cabello. I want to learn how to play the piano. When I’m bored, I play with my dogs, Cookie and Brownie. I still find long conversations hard, but I’m working on my social skills. My little joys keep me going, and I hope to keep learning how to manage my neurodiversity and stay happy.

About Me   by Siddarth Ravi Narayan I am Sid. I am working in inclusive employment for the past 17 years in a software firm. I love my work and my friends there. We are called seven wonders as we work hard and do well though we have our difficulties I love to play drums and other instruments. I like playing tabla and am taking lessons I like dancing too though I dance only in my room! I love all gadgets and understand how to use them very quickly. I do some photography of events in my office. I took basic lessons in photography in order to do this. I try to draw every day. I learnt block printing. I am shy to talk to people, but I like sending mails and messages. I have very good bosses. If I make mistakes they correct it. I had difficulty in G-pay; but my dad taught me to use it responsibly; now I am in control of it. I am a happy person. Flowers Find the Hidden Letters Sid playing Tabla

Interview: Aditi Sowmyanarayan on 'Thus She Rose'   Print.Able: Aditi, I read your novel Thus She Rose almost as soon as it became available on Amazon and, as usual, I have my three questions for you.   But before that, let me say I really liked Pooja Sakhlani’s cover – the colours of the winter sky, the snow and fir trees in the background, and Zooni with the pretty top (lovely colour), the tattoo, and the thin gold chain. And now, my questions: Print.Able: A chalk and cheese difference in style and content between Gobble Thy Prejudice and Thus She Rose .   I enjoyed that. Very serious, hardly any humour, unexpected twists, including at the end – did the story just come to you in entirety or did you have to work a lot to put it together? Aditi: Thank you! I love the cover design too and it’s the wallpaper on my phone! So, let me just give you a bit of background about how the idea for this novel came about. This was right after my short story collection, Small S...

  Music: Pratik S   Print.Able spoke to Pratik S, a talented young musician. We asked him about his goals and the difficulties he faces in achieving them. He answered as follows:    'My ambition is to become good in data processing and multimedia. I also want to get confirmed and settle down working in a good company. The challenges I face are expressing myself, following multiple instructions, focusing and anxiety. Music and specifically playing the keyboard has helped me relax, stay focused and overcome anxiety to a good extent. Giving musical public performances both solo and in group has boosted my overall confidence. I also recommend music to others to overcome similar challenges.'   We also have a clip of Pratik playing the keyboard , which you can find below!   

    Yellow Watermelons  by Ajit Chandrasekhar   Yellow watermelon with four servings on steel plates   Mahadev was a farmer. His farm was near Gopalpur on the Orrisa-Chatisgarh border. The nearest town was Rourkela which is about one hundred kms away. He had a family. His wife was Sharada, and he had two children, a son, Harish, and a daughter, Nisha. He grew vegetables, fruits and even some grain such as wheat and rice. One year, the entire Orrisa State was faced with a severe drought. There was very little rain. Most of Mahadev’s crops failed, except a few watermelons which were saved. There was a severe water shortage and most people had very little to eat. Mahadev gave his watermelons to his neighbours, and as he was giving the last watermelon, his wife Sharada was very angry. ‘How can you give all the watermelons away. What about me and my children? You should have kept at least one watermelon for the family.’ Mahadev tried to explain to...

The Watermelon Story: Interview with Ajit Chandrasekhar  on 'Yellow Watermelons'   Read the story here. Print.Able: Good Morning Ajit. Thank you for sharing the story about the farmer’s family in Orissa. We have some questions for you.   Print.Able: Why did you set the story in Orissa? Ajit: Long ago, when I lived in Mysore, someone told me a story about watermelons in Orissa.   Print.Able: Have you ever yellow watermelons? Ajit: Yes I have. Print.Able: Did you like them? Do they have a distinctive flavour? Ajit: Yes, I liked them a lot. They taste very different from the pink watermelons. Print.Able: Are the weather phenomena, the drought and the cyclone you write about in the story based on fact? Ajit: Yes, that is quite common in Orissa. Print.Able: Have you ever visited Orissa? Ajit: Yes Print.Able: Where did you go, and when? Ajit: We went to Bhuveneshwar, Puri and Konarak and also saw the battlefield at Dhaulagiri on the banks of the Daya River where Ashoka f...

  Art Gallery: Art by Gyan Unni     Gyan was introduced to Print.Able by Dr. Vijay Raghavan, Honorary Director of the Centre for Autism and other Disabilities Rehabilitation, Research and Education (CADRRE). Gyan is currently enrolled at CADRRE and was recently in Bengaluru as one of the live artists for the Spectrum of Art event held at the Bangalore International Centre. Gyan loves colours and dislikes junk food.    Featured below are some samples of his artwork made for the event.