Madurai is known for its temple, palace, museum and eateries but of late a least expected spot has become the go-to place for people and is rapidly gaining importance and reputation. It is an exclusive space spread over 44 cents near the Bharathi Ula and Alagar Koil traffic intersection that has been beautifully converted into a fun and functional park for children with special needs. Till recently the place was a wasteland even as Mr.A.Chandrasekaran, retired UCO Bank Manager, was frantically searching for land and donors who would help to build a place where children with physical and cognitive challenges could go unencumbered for an active outing. Barely within a month of its inauguration, the park is abuzz with activity. Adriel is 10 and loves to play with sand and in water. Gerald Rajan heard about the park and brought his autistic son in a taxi from Tirupparankundram on Tuesday evening. It was already closing time but for the parent’s effort and the child’s interest the gates were kept open little longer. Kalyani kept calling out to her son Prashanth, 15, but the autistic child happily ran around the sensory garden. He seemed to enjoy walking over the chipped wood board and a bed of pebbles, touching the herbal plants, smelling the flowers and occasionally pausing by the artificially created mini waterfall. Nearby, seven years old Hasini Priya, suffering from cerebral palsy was all laughter as her father Kalaiselvan, a vegetable vendor, took her from one play equipment to another – the slide with rollers, the swing with safety belts, the rotator with a seat. The park gave all the positive feels. A cheerful place done up colourfully with inclusive play equipment that gives the children of a lesser God the freedom to be themselves without feeling left out or different. “It is like a temple for us,” says P.Balasubramanian, who brings his daughter every evening. Saroja Krishnaveni is 25 and has mental retardation and her father feels an outing in this park sends positive vibes. On Monday, a group of 30 parents from Tiruchirapalli brought their differently-abled children. Next week, a group of 35 parents and their children from Sankaran Koil, Tirunelveli, are slated to visit followed by groups from Nagercoil and Thoothookudi. Locally, students of Bala Sikhsha Sahayata, a school for autistic children, run by TVS group in Madurai, along with children from Anbagam Manavalrchi Kundriyor Sirapupalli, Sparks Vidyalaya Residential School for Autism, Sairam and Bethsan special schools drop in. “The response is gradually growing. We got in touch with 32 special schools in Madurai asking them to bring their kids over for a break from the monotony. But the word is spreading fast beyond the district,” says Chandrasekaran, whose 23 years old son Ivan was diagnosed with autism at the age of seven. “As parents we felt dejected and desperate,” he says. His wife’s demise last March made things difficult. Nobody else other than the parents know raising a child with autism is a constant challenge. “It is a lonely roller coaster ride,” says Chandrasekaran, who always wanted to take Ivan away from everything that they faced at home. “A place where you can see children like him having fun, smiling and laughing,” he says. The former Madurai Commissioner, Sandeep Nanduri, was both sensitive and receptive to his appeal and not only decided to convert the unused Corporation park opposite the Lotus tank into a socially useful play area for the children with special needs but also agreed to bear 50 per cent of the cost. Chandrasekaran, as the founder of Madurai Group Living Foundation (MGLF) that consists of 150-plus parents of special children as members, could not let go off this opportunity. Lot of internet research and after a team from Bangalore helped him with the design and an estimate of nearly half a crore, he raised the balance amount mortgaging his wife’s jewellery, taking loan from the bank and with donations from friends and well wishers, charity organisations and corporates. While the Corporation cleaned up the area, refurbished the compound wall, laid pathways, installed hand railings and took care off water and power supply, Chandrasekaran got inclusive play equipment, developed a sensory garden, set up a small office inside a ship container. The Park is still a work in progress with a hall for indoor games coming up. TVS Sri Chakra has donated for the construction of four disabled-friendly toilets that are under completion. Chandrasekaran and a core group of nine MGLF members take turns to be in the park daily that opens from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For every kid, playtime is quintessential to his or her happiness and the Madurai Corporation Special Needs Park has that atmosphere any child could want from a playscape. The big difference here is every single detail has been designed to accommodate inclusiveness and accessibility. Such projects, says Dr.Aneesh Sekar, the new Corporation Commissioner, reaffirm that the world is changing for families with children of all disabilities. “We want more people to make use of the facility provided.” Chandrasekaran says he has to politely fight the demands of neighbour families who want their children to be allowed in as well. Not immediately, he says, because normal children will then dominate. “Our children can’t demand and we are their voice,” he says. “Too many families have told me what a blessing this place has been because it has made them forget that their children are different to anyone else.” For more details, call 9443474424 (This column features human inspiring stories from Madurai and surroundings. E-mail soma.basu@thehindu.co.in to tell her about people you know who are silently working to make a difference in your respective areas)

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