Students of Vidya Sagar, a non-profit organisation working with children and young adults with multiple disabilities, have wished grandmaster Viswanathan Anand luck in his matches against Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen in the ongoing world championship.
A banner that says ‘All the best Vishy Anand’ has been put up in their school in Kotturpuram, and students say it will remain up there as long as the tournament goes on.
“The children have been wanting to wish him for the championship for a long time but we felt it wouldn’t be right to disturb him now,” says Rajul Padmanabhan, director, Vidya Sagar.
A picture of a chessboard designed by a student of the school also finds a place in the banner. “Many of our existing students and alumni know Anand really well. They have interacted with him, and also played chess with him. This is our way of showing we are solidly behind him, and hoping he will win,” says Padmanabhan.
Anand has been the brand ambassador of Vidya Sagar for many years now. Besides celebrating many birthdays with the children there, Anand has visited the school on numerous occasions.
“This is also an opportunity to tell him how supportive he has been and that we are exceedingly proud of him,” Padmanabhan says.
