The Hindu Business Line : Fund fun, with a li'l imagination

IT'S a weekend afternoon — an ideal excuse to relax, especially if you are in one of those shaded groves off Chennai's East Coast Road. But two groups of enthusiastic individuals think nothing of sacrificing their siesta for a round of intense bidding in the run-up to dealing with an obstacle course. They are not alone, though. To their right is a group honing its skills in the firing range. And further down the grove, two teams, backed by plenty of cheerleaders, try their hand at three-legged football!

It's fun and adventure all the way — quite unusual for what is traditionally considered a solemn, sometimes even boring, event: a fund-raiser.

Yet, this is how one would describe the third edition of Sadya, the inter-corporate adventure event conducted by Vidya Sagar, a voluntary organisation working with children with special needs. Thirteen corporates — six more than last year — pitched in with Rs 1 lakh each for a social cause, and got a chance to have a crack at the trophy.

For the record, ACCEL ICIM won the two-day event in a field that consisted of Hyundai, Airtel and HDFC, among others. But it wasn't merely about winning; the event provided a platform for knowing and developing skills such as leadership, teamwork and lateral thinking, says Major Swaraj Roy of Adventure Zone, who has been the chief organiser of Sadya. The `adventure' tag notwithstanding, success in most of the games hinged on the ability to plan and leverage the strengths of the team, he says.

For instance, in the obstacle course mentioned earlier, teams were given 100 minutes each in which to cross six obstacles. But they needed to compulsorily spend 10 minutes to plan, keep at least 30 minutes to execute and use the rest to `buy' tools that would help them in their mission. The tools, which included soft-drink crates and ropes, were sold through an `auction'! So, the team had "to know the strengths and weaknesses of each player" before trying to negotiate the obstacles.

Through such events, "you can learn more about your colleague than through years of working together," Roy says. So much so that a company picked a team that comprised members who don't gel well officially!

For Vidya Sagar, Sadya has become an important avenue for raising money, with this year's participation fee of Rs 13 lakh likely to help meet a significant 15 per cent of its annual budget.

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Fund fun, with a li'l imagination