(Common Wealth) Games And The City!

October 20, 2010
(In the last few days, a lot of activity was going on in my life, work and city!  Things were happening with such speed that though I was bursting out of seams with my ideas to write about in my blog, but still I was not able to formally write and share a lot of things (I had been writing drafts though). So, here I go, starting with my CWG expereince!)

Common Wealth Games have come to an end.  Can we believe they are over?! I mean, seeing the preparations for years?!  There are news articles showing the places in Delhi which are still under rubble, still the work is incomplete.  Do you think, those renovation things would be completed now?!

Another thing, which every Delhite must have noticed, is that and there were hardly any foreigners on Delhi roads.... if they were, they would be with their guides for the occasion (volunteers) who exactly knew where to take them.  This was not what I was expecting. There was no mingling with the citizens of the city.  They came like VIPs, protected, even the buses used to carry the players and the teams were well escorted by two police gypsies, one ahead and one following the bus.  So interaction with the local people was quite out of question.  Also, there were not as many tourists from other countries as was expected.  Remember the bed and breakfast scheme of Delhi Govt., the evacuating of students from hostels to make place for the games tourists for abroad?  Yes, so now hotels even are complaining that they did not get adequate business during this time.  This was quite disappointing for all.

The good part were the sports events and the cultural and food festivals, the capital witnessed during this time.  Surely it was one of those rare opportunities to see an international event being held in your city, and Dilliwalas didnot wish to miss it.  I know a few of my friends had planned holidays to run away from the hustle bustle of the city during the Games Holidays (All schools were closed during games), but I think staying here was a better idea.  I stayed here and enjoyed a few of the events.  I will be writing briefly about them in this and the next post.

The events I witnessed personally, were visit to Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, to see the athletics competitions. First time, I didnot carry the camera, as security instructions were silent about it. But the next time, after seeing everybody else carry theirs, I did carry it to click a few pics (see below).  I must say that the cheer, the clappings, the applause during the event, was gleefully infectious!  I don't know whether anybody thought about the importance of live audience ie. people of Delh or not but they were there, cheering and clapping "Indiyeah- Indiyeah" loudly when an Indian athlete ran past them.  It was truely an experience, which you cannot feel watching it on TV,  no way!
 
Indian athletes in Blue


winners running with their flags


The sweetest thing was the medal ceremony.  The national anthem of the winning player's country would be played during the medal ceremony and the whole stadium would stand up as a mark of respect (I was touched by this part of the ceremony).  Then the angavastram, the chanderi stole given to the winners was also a nice Indian gesture. (Great idea - textile ministry!)

I don't think, I need to talk about the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, again held at JLN Stadium, these were fabulous!  But, I noticed two things, which I didn't quite like. First, the dress of school children in both the ceremonies were the same. A white satin big cloak, which had green and/or orange colour underneath. Second, while the orange and green colour (depicting our tricolour flag) was being sprinkled with children underneath it,  the poor little children were covering their eyes to protect them from those powdered synthetic colours (like Holi gulal), that was not a good sight, I was really feeling bad for the kids.  A little sensitivity in this regard would have been appreciated.

All in all, the show was a success.  I think, we Indians accepted it, when the world accepted it!  Was it something to do with the guest's satisfaction first thing, or is it that we are always looking towards others for approval?! I still wonder.

Next, I would be bringing the write up of two cultural events I attended  and also some brochures, which are for keeps for Delhites!

Stay tuned!


RESTLESS
 


23 comments:

Harish P I said...

big relief that it ended with minimal criticisms and no mishaps.

Jack said...

Restless,

My PC is working now. Too many posts, so shall be back tomorrow to read all before I say anything more.

Take care

Anu said...

Wow! Great you had an opportunity to watch one live! I know..it's a pleasure to shout along with the crowd and encourage our country! And I loved the opening and closing ceremonies, for its grandeur!
I'm sure delhiites had a great time...Those who ran away on vacation will regret :)

Anonymous said...

Cool post. Thanks!


vozbuditel',vozbuditel'nye sredstva

Anonymous said...

I dont't think Regret is the right world to use for missing the games. Well, I for one, wont use that word, for i come from the Mani Shankar Aiyar School of thought that the games should not have happened in the first place.

Everyone have been saying how grant delhi looked during the games. My question is, for that matter, Am I (I is plural here, and includes all delhiites) not worthy enough to experience Delhi's granduer otherwise..? do i had to wait for this games for my city to become clean and beautiful?

A Restless Mind With A Sensitive Heart! said...

Harish - and yes, we had not expected it to be such a success in the eyes of the world!

Jack - good to have u back! welcome!

Vaish - yes, it was my first time, and I was the one shouting louder than my kids :D

Anonymous - thanks.

Neo - first point, ah, well ok, even we think that way, but once we have some event, why not enjoy, what is the fault of the players, why should we not cheer for them and for the country?

second point - again, yes, you could have said,( as I also said in my earlier post) why should the citizen wait for a big even for the city to develop? why an event?

But the grandeur being talked about here, is the grand show of closing and opening ceremony. In this you could have said, why such a show off? why expensive things for the show? that makes sense then.

Hey, have I not starting to tell you what to ask and what not?!!!!

RESTLESS

Anonymous said...

well, i was thinking about writing about that in the second part of my comment. infact, almost 300 crores have been spent on the opening and closing ceremonies. with that much amount, it was bound to be glorious. there is no second option in it, having spent so much money.

and above all, the ceremonies were not as successful as it was projected. Infact, they had this so called 50000 Tickets for opening ceremonies and my inside information says.. most of those tickets were given away as compliments to bureaucrats. Rather, in order to make the event a success the Organising committee brought the tickets at this price themselves and gave it away as free passes. there is another motive in doing so. they could convert the black money into white too, considering the fact that the organising committee got tax exemptions.

Anonymous said...

...and another thing.. I am pretty egoistic about myself as you had found out from my profile... ;) so noone can tell me what to ask and what not... :-) JUST KIDDING

Jack said...

Restless,

I was so restless till I could visit you after my visit out of Delhi for a day and read all pending posts. I have very strong views on Gender Bias which is so common and we treated our both children, daughter & son, as equals. They are both married now and have children of their own. I always say that we must pose question to the one who is contemplating Suicide as to what legacy will he or she leave behind for near & dear ones by just escaping his or her problems in this coward way? I think you could start a new phrase - Hairlogy. I had taken the Talking Ad out of newpaper and our 4 years old grandson from daughter's side had a gala time the whole day. Giving but forgetting is the best feeling. We are definitely influeced by the ads of Fair Skin. I hold that Loco driver for this massacre. A time comes when we need to be more of a friend than parent to our children, but of course not at the cost of proper manners. They do need their space. We need to make them into responsible persons by making them understand what is what. Ghosts, well, it is each to his or her thinking. During CWG days it was surprising pleasure to find such less traffic on roads. Loner or Lonely was very informative and with good suggestions. One could always give time to needy and it will benefit both. Very sound advice about Breast Cancer and frank talk too. You realised about advantage of sports as stated in the post. How old is you son? All said and done CWG has made us proud, specilly Opening & Closing as well as Medals tally. Let us hope lessons are well learnt.

Take care

Prateek Bagri said...

A perfect truth in this post says it all.
My brother told me that as soon as Opening Ceremony (the most awesome thing) came to an end, the so called Foreign Spectators returned to their respective nations.
Also the volunteers were not treated properly— arrangements for them were close to pathetic. Meal served to them was eww….!!! And they asks the fellow athletes to bring them drinks and other fancy items since they were barred to enter that utmost highly security area.
Apart from CWG Delhi 2010 attire and identity card they were given nothing, only those who were engaged with the organizing staff were acknowledged for their work.
But the fact could not be denied that India pulled off games very well. Though I was lazy enough not to go to witness this one of a kind venture (Yamuna Sports Complex is my neighbor. :P) but I relished each game which I saw on TV.
And what could be the perfect ending to this extravaganza – the Closing Ceremony.

A Restless Mind With A Sensitive Heart! said...

Neo - Thanks for sharing ur opinion. I feel you are very passionate about this cause, and hence take a lot of interest reading about it from news etc. Good thing.

and Neo, I think, after reading ur comments and ur take on various issues discussed in my posts, I know u won't like to hear this, but was it was my self talk (telling myself that how come I am telling what to ask?!)

But on a serious note, I can understand the broad view point of my readers(including you), which i very well appreciate, even if they differ from me, and I encourage my blogger pals, readers and commentators to have a healthy, open and intelligent and interactive discussion on my blog.

Well thanks a ton for your active participation Neo, means a lot to me.

RESTLESS

A Restless Mind With A Sensitive Heart! said...

Jack,

I seem to have fallen in love with my puedonym RESTLESS! So if anybody uses it, it makes me smile :)

Great to know u too feel strongly against gender bias. I discovered there are a lot of bloggers writing on these issues. Feels great to me.

my views on suicide are changing, as to whether it's really being coward or not, will discuss it sometime.

LOL @ hairology

do u really hold only the Loco driver for the killings of elephants?

How was ur CWG experience? do tell.

glad u liked Loner or Lonely article!

Jack, You have immense reading ability and then u recall everything and write in one comment! I mean, it's commendable u present views on varied aspects in one go.

But now on would be expecting your views, valuable to me, on each post individually :)

do stay in touch and share your views.

RESTLESS

A Restless Mind With A Sensitive Heart! said...

Hey Prateek!

Yup the news of the treatment given to volunteers is very much in news. I feel bad for the youth, as they gave their time and effort only to get a certificate and a uniform.

oh, u missed the live action!

good to hear from u.

RESTLESS

Anonymous said...

@Jack...I read you saying that you hold loco driver responsible for the 'massacre'....???i Dont... massacre is too strong a word to use for an action that happened in which one has no control over it.

Anonymous said...

and @RestlessMindSensitiveHeart, i would like to call you as SensitiveHeart only, surprised to know that your views on suicides are changing. would like to know your changed perception. I still believe, it is now cowardice....and its an overall situation that envelops a person that drives him/her to suicide... its a very dicey thing... and one can't term it as a cowardice.

A Restless Mind With A Sensitive Heart! said...

Neo,

My thoughts are changing after knowing the views of a few co bloggers. You have written about it very passionately. Another lady from bloggers unite wrote about her husband's suicide and the circumstances which pushed a simple guy to such levels. Another blogger who is a psychologist (as i understand) wrote about it recently. I realised my insensitivity towards the issue.

All this is making me rethink. It will take me some time to feel for it.... strongly.

RESTLESS

Jack said...

Restless,

Noted and will do so in each post but I normally do consolidated one if I am missing in action for some time.

Restless and Neo,

If my knowledge is not rusty, the headlamp of a loco engine throws light a long distance. The rail tracks are free of any obstructions and if there is anything unusual an alert driver should be able to see it and take appropriate action. Had he applied emergency brakes, maybe only on calf may have been hit. And to make is worse he increased speed when female elephant charged towards the train running on the tracks. What would you call this act?

Take care

Anonymous said...

Mmm...waiting to hear from you more on this.

Anonymous said...

Well..Jack, the headlamp does throw light a long distance.. i am not contesting it... but what about the terrain? is the long distance of any use, when the terrain is hilly... passing through a jungle..with curves...? there may be an instance where the track is on a straight path.. but it is not the case.. always... especially...where the track is running through hilly and jungle terrain.

when a female elephant charges towards the train.. i think it is a natural reaction on the drivers part to speed up..rather than let the elephant rampage the train by slowing it... we all do..when stray dogs bark and come after us..while driving two wheelers.. don't we????? Their own life is precious for everyone.. be it the driver himself.. or the elephant.. my only point is we have to find way out to get away from this accidents.. and not blame poor driver for it..

A Restless Mind With A Sensitive Heart! said...

Jack,

I hope u will take this discussion in a positive way... the aim is not to offend anybody... but to discuss and,in the process of it - disagree or agree and then learn.

Your view point has been shared a lot of ppl on my blog on this post, you will see, but I differ slightly, as I have observed that we always try to find a fall guy to put all the blame on him or her. But utlitmately, it's the system, the broader view of the policy makers, the ignornace of the implementers and carelessness on part of us, citizens. So, one guy is never responsible for a big incident or accident.

I don't know much of the technicality of railways and terrain and all, so can't comment on that. But, i believe that no man can have the heart to crush a baby, of any species, just like that. There has to some reason. May be beyond him.

I agree with Neo on driver's increasing speed seeing the mother elephant charging angrily towards the train.

I always look forward to valuable comments of my readers, so plese feel free to share your thoughts, always :)

RESTLESS

NeoTheHack said...

Thanks..!

Jack said...

Neo and Restless,

I entirely agree about terrain and curves. All the more in such conditions the speed of the train should not be very high, specially keeping in mind it was a goods train so the load to haul must have weighed a lot. I doubt if a train can take sharp turns at high speed. If we notice tracks we find that the curves are gradual giving ample view of what lies ahead with hardly any blind turns as in case of roads. Comparison with a two wheeler and dog chasing may not be true as I doubt if an elephant can topple a loco engine which weighs much more than the elephant.

It is not the question of finding a fall guy but making an effort to understand what may have happened. But on the face of it, it does seem that there was some error on the part of driver. Mind you, it will not be entirely suprising if the driver instead of keeping a lookout was sitting behind and having a swig with his mate. After all it was a goods train with no passanger safety involved.

Restless, I enjoy an openminded healthy discussion as it leads to learning more and more.

Take care

Vee said...

been a while since i visited your blog. nice to see a dilliwalla's opinion on this post event scenario. may be the govt is afraid of any terror attacks that would get targeted on groups of foreign nationals. i think, this is the prime reason for them being treated as VIPs with security.

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