She was the first woman in the world to learn the sacred Indian art form of Kathakali Chutti.

Now work by Southampton grandmother Barbara Vijayakumar will be celebrated with a major new exhibition at a city centre gallery.

A synaesthete – someone who can taste colour, sounds or language – Barbara said: “I see colours in three dimensional form. In the UK they thought I had a mental illness, but in India they thought I was blessed.

“This exhibition is about celebrating the human spirit and how nothing can crush that.”

After graduating from the Winchester School of Art in 1969, Barbara realised there were no art forms in the Western world that could satisfy her passion for colour.

So she set off on a quest – to hitchhike overland to Australia where she planned to meet Aborigines and learn from them how to develop her own artistic practise.

But after travelling by donkey through the mountains of Afghanistan, and through the Khyber Pass under a blanket on the top of a lorry, her journey was cut short when she got off a train at the wrong stop and ended up in the company of virtuoso actors performing a sacred and centuries-old performance art in South Indian temples.

At the Kerala Kalamandalam she found what she had been looking for – artists and performers skilled in the practise of using colour, textiles and sculpture in ways she had never seen before.

Barbara saw that learning Kathakali makeup – Chutti – could be a way for her to develop her own ideas about ‘living sculpture.’ She started an apprenticeship with guru Govinda Variyar Ashan in the specialist three dimensional makeup, which is made from rice paste and used by the Kathakali actors.

And in 1976 Barbara graduated as the first woman, and non-Indian Kathakali Chutti artist in the world – getting her title of Kalamandalam.

But it wasn’t just a host of fresh new ideas she brought back to her adopted home of Southampton.

Barbara had, during her training, locked eyes with actor Vijayakumar – and although neither spoke the other’s language, the two became close and Vijaya moved back to England with Barbara.

They married and set up the Kala Chethena Kathakali Company from their home in 1987 and since then the Woolston couple have given more than 1750 performances, 23 exhibitions, 3500 workshops and 3,000 solo performances.

With their prized Keralan costumes – some of which are more than 200 years old – they have built up a valuable collection of the major parts performed in the sacred plays – which along with Barbara’s other work will go to the London’s Victoria and Albert museum when they die.

Stuart McLeod, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund South East England, said: “This exhibition is a fantastic opportunity for people in Southampton to learn new skills and engage with their heritage through a real cultural feast for the senses.”

Also on show will be a collection of costumes made by the New Carnival Company, Isle of Wight.

The exhibition has been funded by the Heritage Lottery fund, The Big Lottery ‘Celebrate’ and Southampton City Council.

It will be at Southampton City Art Gallery from May 13 to August 19 with performances by Kalamandalam Vijayakumar at 1.30pm on May 13 and on August 12 between 1pm and 3pm with children from Southampton’s Keralan community.

There will be a full company performance on November 5 at The Nuffield Theatre and activity days for all ages on May 31, August 2, August 12, at City Art Gallery.