 The mood at the D A V Boys Higher Secondary School at Mogappair, Chennai, was really inclined towards 'aattam paattam kondaattam'. 'The Bridge', a non-governmental organisation (NGO), had organised an event titled 'Aattam Paattam Kondattam' as a day of fun and entertainment for special children and adults who are under the care of various NGOs and social welfare organisations in and around
Chennai.
Totally, 650 participants from 15 NGOs took part in this most enjoyable event.
There were numerous outdoor games for the participants, which included hoopla, breaking the pyramid, pot the ball, hit-n-get, place the coin, shooting the ballon, ring the bottle, feed the clown, basketball, bells to ring, bindi game and dancer den.
Viswanath, one of the volunteers of
'The Bridge', elaborating on the event, said all the games were made easy for the participants so that everybody would win a prize in every game.
 'Aatam Paatam Kondatam' was organised for the entertainment of mentally and physically challenged peoeple, young and old, of various welfare organisations operating in and around
Chennai.
The event has been successfully organised by 'The Bridge' in association with 'Nallamanam' and
'The Banyan' volunteers for the past few years.
The aim of this event is not to raise funds but provide entertainment to people who are cared by NGOs, and help them meet on a common platform, have fun and celebrate life with other members, Viswanath added.
 About the motive of organising an event of this kind, Viswanath said, "They don't usually get opportunities that other members of society enjoy, especially when it comes to entertainment. We hope to fill this void in their lives by organising this programme which will also give them an opportunity to interact and exchange ideas with others."
Ashok Leyland, APR Travels and Parveen Travels were the transport sponsors and HTC Softwares sponsored the main event, Viswanath pointed out.
 The list of NGOs benefited by this event include 'Anbu Karangal', 'ARUWE', 'Gnanadeepam', 'Good Life Centre', 'Happy Home', 'Little Drops', 'Nethrodaya', 'Sagayam', 'SEED', 'Sivasakthi Kaakum Karangal', 'Sri Arunodhayam', 'The Banyan', 'Udhavum Ullangal' and
'Vasantham'.
The Bridge supports Anbu Karangal, ARUWE, Gnanadeepam, Good Life Centre, Nethrodaya, Sagayam, SEED, Sri Arunodhayam, The Banyan, Udhavum Ullangal and
Vasantham.
 'The Bridge' was founded on August 8, 1995, by a team of young professionals inspired by T C Boovendran. It has a board of 10 trustees, working under the priciple of collective responsibility.
The aim of the organisation is to channelise any kind of help, be it money or serive, to the needy people of our society by acting as a bridge between the people who want to help and those who need help.
There were more than 170 volunteers at the Sunday event to make it a grand success.
N Arun Kumar
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A fun day
