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tribidya

tribidya
sengupta , tripura

Tribidya Sengupta (26), wearing chocolate brown trousers and a chocolate brown T-shirt, sits cross-legged on a bed, pressing the keys of a synthesizer with the forefingers of both hands. The bedsheet is printed in a blue, white and grey design. The room has mushroom pink walls. There is a window behind the bed covered by a curtain in a design of diagonal rows of golden-green trees against a white background.
Tribidya sits on a bed next to its brown wooden headboard. He has a large, rectangular wooden board placed across his lap. Placed on the board is a sheet of white paper next to a large paper plate. The paper plate has a small glass bottle of red poster paint. There are childish pencil drawings of two birds on the sheet. One bird painted red and yellow sits on a green branch. On the other bird which is not painted, Tribidya daubs red paint with a green paintbrush that he holds in his right hand.
Tribidya, wearing a navy blue T-shirt, sits behind a wooden table. The table top has a rough surface that is pitted and scratched. On the table in front of Tribidya there is a large, rectangular block of brown wood with rows of holes. Five upright blue cylinders have been inserted into a row of holes. Behind the blue row there is a row of smaller black cylinders. Behind the black row, there are three red cylinders the same size as the blue, inserted in their holes. Tribidya has just inserted the fourth cylinder which he grips with his right hand. In front of the wooden block there is a wooden container with upright cylinders, five yellow and five green.
Tribidya, wearing dark grey shorts and a white banian (undershirt), sits cross-legged on a bed in front of an open black laptop. The laptop screen shows the title of the TV show SHAKTIMAN in orange block letters with the animated figure of Shaktiman above the title. Tribidya is looking into the screen with his left elbow resting on his left thigh and the folded fingers of his left hand touching his chin. His right forearm rests on his right thigh and right hand rests on the bed. The bedsheet has a floral pattern of yellow, orange and green on a white background. The wall behind the bed is mushroom pink.
Tribidya with his family seated on a cane sofa, facing the camera. From left to right: father Tushar Kanti Sengupta (67), mother Ratnabali Ray Sengupta (54), late grandmother Chitra Roy (77) and Tribidya. Tushar Kanti wears specs and has white stubble around his chin and a stubbly moustache. He is dressed in a red-and-white pinstriped, half-sleeved shirt and black trousers. Ratnabali wears specs and has a large black bindi on her forehead. She is dressed in a greenish-yellow voile-cotton sari with an embroidered pallu and a thin red border; her black blouse has a white leaf pattern on it. Chitra has salt-and-pepper hair and wears a pale grey sari with a cream border. Tribidya sits cross-legged sideways on the sofa. He wears a red T-shirt and beige pants. The floor of the room is white marble with a black marble border. There are several framed paintings on the wall behind them which is painted dark peach.
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“I love Bollywood songs and have been practising the keyboard for two years”

While the Covid-19 pandemic wrought immense suffering upon the world, it had unexpected benefits for some people. For instance, Tushar Kanti and Ratnabali Ray Sengupta from Agartala in Tripura made use of the lockdown period to teach their autistic son Tribidya to paint and to play the synthesizer.
 
Way back when their son was a toddler, the Senguptas noticed he was different from his siblings. He couldn’t talk, but could sing. He could say only a few words but not phrases. Doctors in Agartala couldn’t find anything wrong with him so they took him to Kolkata, where a doctor diagnosed him with ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Acting on the doctor’s recommendation, they got him enrolled in a large school but were forced to remove him after a month because of his “disruptive” behaviour. The same thing happened when they enrolled him in the newly started SSRVM School. None of these mainstream schools in Agartala had teachers equipped to engage with Tribidya.
 
The Senguptas then took their three-and-a-half-year-old son to Nimhans (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) in Bengaluru, where he was diagnosed with autism. The doctors there suggested a ‘special school’ but Tripura did not have any. So when Tribidya turned five, he was enrolled in a special school in Kolkata where he learned to sit and work with teachers there. But this couldn’t be a long-term solution since the family was based in Tripura. The school suggested that the parents themselves establish a special school in their hometown.
 
After the initial trauma of their son’s diagnosis, the couple accepted that they had to deal with their situation. Ratnabali underwent professional training in order to better care for Tribidya. Even though he is now 26, she still receives instruction from professionals to help with his speech difficulties. Unsurprisingly, the family faces taunts from people around them and although they are used to it, it hurts every time. “_Yeh to pagal hai_ (he is mad),” someone once said.
 
The couple, together with some other parents of special-needs children, founded the Vidya Welfare Society in Agartala and started a school, Vidya, in 2004. Vidya, which has three special educators, focuses on holistic development and trains the children in life skills through dance, music, art and craft. The society is supported by donations from parents and well-wishers. Attempts to secure government assistance have thus far been unsuccessful. Currently, Most of the 22 students in the school are boys. Children up to the age of 18 get schooling but those over 18 are taught vocational courses.
 
Ratnabali is now an Assistant Professor in the History Department of the Women’s College. She started teaching there when Tribidya was just six months old and says she has very supportive colleagues including the principal. If she requires time off, she gets it though she makes it clear she does not want to take advantage of her circumstances. She returns from college at 3 p.m. and then goes to Vidya, where she stays until 5 p.m. Tushar Kanti, who retired as a bank officer, now works full-time for the society as its secretary. Tribidya’s condition inspired his maternal aunt, Kathakali, to do a special education course at the National Institute of Mental Health in Kolkata; she now works at the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy.
 
Tribidya has thrived under parental care and enjoys going out and travelling. He loves to listen to music and is entranced by Bollywood songs. “Main koi aisa geet gaoon aur aarzoo agar tum kaho” is his favourite. A foodie, he has high standards and his favourite dishes are aloo bhajaa (fried potatoes) and egg curry. His regimen is straightforward: get up around 7.30 a.m., eat breakfast, study with father, have a bath and go to school with father. He is able to write and is now learning how to read the time. The duo returns home for lunch after which Tribidya has a short nap. Evenings are practice time on his synthesizer. Ratnabali introduced him to the instrument and to sketching and painting since she thought they would be good exercises for hand-eye coordination.
 
While his parents have done their best, one thing they have to cope with is his aggression when he is angry. Sometimes it gets physical. It tears Ratnabali’s heart, particularly when his anger has grown with age. His parents are worried about his future and want to establish a trust or a shelter home where he will be cared for after they are gone.
 
“Everyone, whether autistic or not, if they are accepted, then life would be easier,” says Ratnabali, adding that there should be more awareness on autism.


Photos:

Vicky Roy

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