Bengaluru, 17th January, 2024: Vignesh Sekar, an engineer from Pollachi, on behalf of Third Eye Autism Centre, has taken up the cause of spreading autism awareness among the public through his bicycle ride programme, called ‘The Golden Triangle ’23’. The event started out from Bangalore on December 19, 2023, connecting Manglore via Hassan, and ended in Kanyakumari on December 25, 2023.
Talking about the event, Saranya, founder of Third Eye, said, “Vignesh has been volunteering for our organization since 2017 and has been closely associated with our autism awareness events. Every year, he cycles for different causes; and, this year, we suggested that he undertake an autism awareness cycling event. So, he covered the villages of Tamil Nadu to spread the message. We thought he would be the best person to carry word about autism to the common people.”
“We don’t expect people to understand the whole concept of autism in a short period of time,” she added. “We thought he could simply make people aware about the very term, ‘autism’. This way, we can get it out there in a very subtle way. I think this may be one of the best programmes to reach every nook and cranny of rural Tamil Nadu.”
Passionate about Athletics
Vignesh is very passionate about athletics, such as ultra-endurance cycling and ultra-trial running. Every year, he spends his vacations travelling on his bicycle to different cities, where he can connect with different people, collaborate with their culture and language and share knowledge mutually. He started his cycle touring during the 2020 Covid pandemic, where he first rode his bicycle for a cause, travelling with his friends from Coimbatore to Kanyakumari, covering nearly 435 kilometres. He has been going on these bicycle rides every year since then.
In 2021, he termed his event ‘Gates of Tamil Nadu’ and rode 1,800 kilometres along the East Coast. And in 2022, he rode up and down the tourist routes of all the Tamil Nadu mountains in eight days and named the event ‘Pedal to Paradise’, covering 1,200 kilometres.
All His Rides Are for a Cause
All his rides are for some cause; and, this year’s event is named ‘Golden Triangle’. His route, covering both the West and East Coasts, passes through four states of India and his cause, this year, is to spread autism awareness among the general public in the coastal villages of South India.
He has been associated with the Third Eye Centre for autism since 2017 as a volunteer in coordinating their autism awareness programmes. Every year, in the first week of April, he goes ‘blue’ for autism to spread awareness that autism is not a disease. It is a disability where affected children need early intervention therapy to help them integrate with society and for higher schooling.
“In the current generation, about 1 in 100 children in India under age 10 has autism,” says Vignesh. “Considering this, I took up autism awareness as a cause for my ride this year. I started my bike tour from Bangalore through Hassan and Mangalore and finally reached Kanyakumari in 7 days to cover the West Coast. Wherever I got an opportunity to interact with people, I talked to them to spread awareness about autism. The main goal was to make people recognize the word, ‘autism’.”
