Dubai teenager expresses his talent through balloons

Dhiren Bhatia can do anything with colourful balloons and he hopes to make a living by decorating venues.

Like any growing teenager, he dreams to become independent in life and support his single mother. And he expresses all this with balloons ... colourful balloons. Dhiren Bhatia finds it difficult to express his thoughts through words as he is suffering from high functioning asperger Syndrome (an autism spectrum disorder).
He makes beautiful arches, columns, pillars, towers and other designs with large balloons. His love for balloons turned into a passion almost 10 years ago when he started decorating his house on every possible festival or occasion. "I feel good and happy when I make designs with balloons. I can make so many designs but I love pillars the most. All my friends like my work," replied the young and creative boy.
"My house is always accessorised with them," said his proud mother Neelam Bhatia. "Be it any festival like Diwali, Onam, Holi or any national occasion, he decorates the house. The best part is that every time he tries to give the house a different look. Now, for the Indian Republic Day which falls on January 26, he has plans to decorate the house with green, orange and white balloons.
"He has been obsessed with them since he was just one-year-old. I never thought this would ever give him any goal in life, but today he wants to open his own event company. Before that I want him to learn the art professionally so that he can achieve what he deserves."
As of now, Dhiren decorates at private parties, festive occasions and corporate events.
Another talent is his ability to make greeting cards. And he never forgets to wish his friends and make them feel special with his lovely cards. He also makes power-point presentations and invitation cards for corporate events.
A complete foodie and die-hard Salman Khan fan, Dhiren hopes to support his mother who has been looking after him alone since he was five months old.
"As he is growing, he is realising that he needs to support me, but actually I want him to stand on his own feet. He needs several therapies which are not provided at school and I cannot afford to give them privately. That's why I want him to fine-tune his passion. In a month, we buy at least 300-400 balloons from different stores across Dubai for different events. But, sadly people only pay for the balloon cost and not for the work done."
Despite being different from able children, he is blessed with good memory and a creative mind. He is good at planning, keeping track of dates and days and organising events. He is a boy with a special heart.
ankita@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai