Have you met Chirayu? He’s five years old and on the autism spectrum. Sometimes, he struggles with aggression and violent outbursts. That’s one of the reasons the BMC school that his parents enrolled him in wasn’t keen on having him. But last week, he gave them a sight to remember. With his birthday cake in hand, Chirayu darted across the classroom wearing a wide smile, feeding every child in his path. Kudos to Chirayu. And kudos to Brain Bristle, the organisation working towards helping children like him fit in their classrooms.

At Showcase of Wonders today, many more children on the autism spectrum will remind the world that they’re much more than their diagnosis. “Autistic children can be supremely talented. Most of them are. But unfortunately, we’ve viewed them only through skewed representations. You’ll buy diyas [lamps] painted by the children on Diwali, and that’s about it,” says Devangana Mishra, founder.