An evening of melodious tunes, stirring performances and a glimpse into the streets of 1980s Mumbai surrounded by glitz and chaos sounds like a good evening out on town. Except, this one is with a difference. Next week, Brain Bristle Foundation’s Savitri Dhavale’s ‘May I Bombay?’, 1980-1993 will be a themed event with a special focus on the birth and awareness of autism.

A moment from Ananya Halarnkar’s performance at the foundation’s talent hunt show

The purpose is to blur the lines between autism, art, education and neurodiversity. “The event will begin with a medley of songs that defined the 1980s by Ananya Halarnkar, a 23-year-old musician on the autism spectrum. The performance will be followed by a skit directed by Vajid Ali, member of the initiative’s social work team. Working out of the low-income schools and autistic children, they will perform a small street play to unpack the birth of autism, and its early awareness in India during the early 1980s. The highlight of the event would be a small poetry workshop that will share works from an era of women writers interwoven into my own work from 26, Kamala Nehru Ridge, Civil Lines Delhi set in pre-Independence India, followed by a reading from my upcoming book Savitri Dhavale’s ‘May I Bombay?’, 1980-1993, based on Savitri Dhavale’s life,” shared Devangana Mishra, founder, Brain Bristle.