Doodles, rhymes: Tracing the lines into an autistic mind

She has an unfailing memory and an acute sense of detail that takes one by complete surprise. Aishwarya Sriram, 34 years old and autistic, is a diligent diary writer. And due to this habit maintained over the last five years everyone, including her parents, would have missed the chance to have a glimpse of her thoughts and observations. Now, her diary is set to to be published as a book. Avalukku Endru Ore Manam – Aishy’s Jottings (2010-2015) will be launched in the city on March 20.

Aishwarya, who was named after the famous queen of Nepal, was diagnosed with autism at the age of four. It’s been a long struggle ever since for her and her parents, Girija and B Sriram. “This was in the mid-1980s, when autism was almost unheard of. I underwent special training to understand the condition and guide my daughter,” says Girija. 

Autistics live in a world of their own. Asking them questions interrupts their thoughts that can transgress the conventional flow of time. She was soon initiated into puzzles, drawing and music, pastimes that she enjoys deeply. Encouraged by special educator Mythili Chari to keep a diary, this became a wonderful avenue for expressing herself. Her mother Girija says, “People with autism can express themselves, but others may not be in a position to understand things the way they perceive it. Her diary captures everything -- from her day-to-day chores, engagements, encounters and observations.” Her diary reflects her eye for detail, it is a revelation, now compressed into a 300-page book. Sriram pored through six diaries and hundreds of pages before shortlisting the entries included in the book. 

“She made her first entry the day her father retired in February 2010,” Girija recalls. “We wanted her to move on from just her routine observations as they would begin to get monotonous. So, we encouraged her to write on what she saw and how she saw it in her own way. With constant prodding from everybody, she has developed a keen interest in diary writing. Over the years, the collected entries have begun to speak for her life and mind — sometimes, painful, poignant, mostly funny.” 

The diary describes her fascination for applying kohl like her music teacher, Lakshmi Mohan, the transformation of mehendi colour from green to deep orange, a sudden recollection of a childhood memory like her bright frock and sometimes, apologies for a misdemeanour. “She comes up with rhyming syllables and puns on words like ‘weight’ and ‘wait’. We see a different train of thought that follows nature, animals and the people she meets,” says Sriram. 

Girija adds, “The book is predominantly in Tamil, her mother tongue, but when she gets stuck, she brings in English alphabets.” Following a suggestion by Tamil scholar VV Subramaniam, Sriram has worked on the explanation. “He told us that with the reading habit declining, if they were unable to understand something, they were going to stop reading it. These are telegraphic notes and they have to be explained with the context and the situation. I haven’t corrected her language,” he points out. 

He reckons that the book can serve as a reference point for other parents, grappling with the challenges of understanding an autistic child. “There are many parents who look for material to understand the condition better. The books they come across can discourage them immensely.” 

Aishwarya, who is adept at solving puzzles, is also an artist and her drawings are again a ride back and forth in time. “We were surprised to see her draw a picture of her teacher Jaya, who taught her in the late 1980s,” says Sriram.