In 1998, Bhargav Sundaram and his wife Priya started Callidai Motors, a company that designs customised wheelchairs.
Their enterprise has helped hundreds of differently-abled persons in the city to go about their daily lives, in a better fashion.
On Sunday, the couple was among the recipients of the Champions of Chennai awards.
The awards, instituted by KSA Trust last year, are presented to six organisations or individuals from Chennai who have excelled in the fields of arts, education, enterprise, healthcare, social initiative and sport.
The awards were given away by Carnatic singer Sudha Ragunathan. “It is important to give back to society in whatever way we can, and these awards reinforce that thought,” she said.
In the arts category, Deborah Thiagarajan was awarded for her work developing DakshinaChitra and the Madras Craft Foundation.
In the field of education, the award was given to Clarke School for the Deaf, formed in 1970, for helping to change society’s perception of persons with disabilities.
In healthcare, the Chennai Champion this year was Udhi Eye Hospital for its efforts to bring eye care to the underprivileged.
R. Elango from Kuthambakkam too received the award for his contribution to society and his village, and P. Nagaraj, founder of Prime Sports Academy, was honoured for promoting young, talented athletes from rural areas.
