I know I'm trying to hop onto a bus that is already gone..... But I had to! Would have felt incomplete without it. How could I not write about something that left such an indelible impression on me? Plus, it possibly is THE moment, which will be mentioned every time the love of my life is mentioned anywhere in the world, meri pyari Dilli!! For close to a fortnight, Delhi was the quintessential bride, all decked up in glory, each flaw carefully hidden, a picture of calm n poise, but a thousand storms brewing within, being, watched, observed and judged by everyone. Did she pass the test? Barely, as we all know.
So much has been written and said about the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010, that there is no point in reliving them. We are all aware of the scams, the corruption, the mess, the collapse, the 6000 Rs. Toilet roll, the miraculous turn around, the jaw dropping, heart pumping, Awe-inspiring, pride-inducing opening ceremony, the ALMOST smooth conduct of the games, Expectedly empty stadiums which miraculously filled up with screaming, dancing, "monkeys" (as one of our esteemed guests put it), and the highlight - the 101 medals in our kitty, and the slightly disappointing closing ceremony. We have all read it, seen it, heard about it, mostly through the now-devil, now-angel Desi media, and the ever condescending, nit-picking, and at best patronizing firangi media.
So what do I write about? The fact that it got people, Indian people, that too Delhi people, who consider it too much of a bother to even wave their hands at a concert, to come out of their homes, at 8, 9 even 10 in the night, on weekdays, to watch sports like Badminton, Tennis, Rugby 7's, wrestling, boxing and so on. The fact that it got millions of Indians hooked onto Doordarshan again. I was extremely amused, and perplexed to find myself and my mother hooked onto DD Sports from 6pm to 10 pm straight everyday, watching things like wrestling, boxing, hockey, squash, table tennis, athletics, even Lawn bowls for God's sake (still no idea what it is all about). I fell in love with Delhi all over again, watching the cyclists sweat it out for more than three hours on the deserted, but beautiful boulevards of Central Delhi, the aerial shots of Lutyen's Delhi taking my breath away.
But most important of all, I think what deserves to be written about it, is the look in the eyes of the athletes, who did our country proud, when after their win (or even loss), they looked up in the stands to find hundreds of compatriots cheering and yelling for them. The look in their eyes (and tears) while standing on the podium with the medal in their hand, mumbling the national anthem, and staring at the tricolor being hoisted. The moving image of Sarath Kamal bawling with emotion after the Gold in men's doubles on the podium when the national anthem played instantly comes to the mind. Unknown names, and faces, suddenly became the topic of discussion at water-points and dinner tables. Those who would have been unknown to the neighborhood subziwallah a few days back, had small children gunning for their autographs, looking upto them with respect and awe, wanting to be like them, and cheering in the stands waving banners with their names written. For players like Deepika Kumari, the archery gold medalist from Jharkhand, years of living in abject poverty and anonymity, the worth of those years was realized in that one moment, which DD captured in a beautiful manner in the shot for each podium winner - with their emotion filled faces looking up at the flag while singing the anthem in one half of the TV screen, the Tricolor being hoisted in the other half, and their sport represented at the bottom of the screen by a shuttlecock, or ball, or bow etc. Images that will not be forgotten (hopefully) for a long time. These games mean so much more to these athletes than we can imagine, and should be the answer to the skeptics who wondered whether it was worth spending the thousands of crores on a "party" (as Chetan Bhagat put it), when it could have been used for "development". Was this not development? And are people really naive enough to believe that if the games had not been organized, that money would have ever actually gone to the poor? Anyway, not the things I want to focus on. For me, the legacy of the games was what I mentioned above, and it truly was, a coming out event, in more ways than one.
And before I forget, a BIG Shout out to the voulnteers of Delhi United (including my friends, Anirudh and Isha), who, as everyone has acknowledged, were a major force behind the successful conduct of the games. I really feel that I missed out on a once in a lifetime opportunity.
So much has been written and said about the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010, that there is no point in reliving them. We are all aware of the scams, the corruption, the mess, the collapse, the 6000 Rs. Toilet roll, the miraculous turn around, the jaw dropping, heart pumping, Awe-inspiring, pride-inducing opening ceremony, the ALMOST smooth conduct of the games, Expectedly empty stadiums which miraculously filled up with screaming, dancing, "monkeys" (as one of our esteemed guests put it), and the highlight - the 101 medals in our kitty, and the slightly disappointing closing ceremony. We have all read it, seen it, heard about it, mostly through the now-devil, now-angel Desi media, and the ever condescending, nit-picking, and at best patronizing firangi media.
So what do I write about? The fact that it got people, Indian people, that too Delhi people, who consider it too much of a bother to even wave their hands at a concert, to come out of their homes, at 8, 9 even 10 in the night, on weekdays, to watch sports like Badminton, Tennis, Rugby 7's, wrestling, boxing and so on. The fact that it got millions of Indians hooked onto Doordarshan again. I was extremely amused, and perplexed to find myself and my mother hooked onto DD Sports from 6pm to 10 pm straight everyday, watching things like wrestling, boxing, hockey, squash, table tennis, athletics, even Lawn bowls for God's sake (still no idea what it is all about). I fell in love with Delhi all over again, watching the cyclists sweat it out for more than three hours on the deserted, but beautiful boulevards of Central Delhi, the aerial shots of Lutyen's Delhi taking my breath away.
But most important of all, I think what deserves to be written about it, is the look in the eyes of the athletes, who did our country proud, when after their win (or even loss), they looked up in the stands to find hundreds of compatriots cheering and yelling for them. The look in their eyes (and tears) while standing on the podium with the medal in their hand, mumbling the national anthem, and staring at the tricolor being hoisted. The moving image of Sarath Kamal bawling with emotion after the Gold in men's doubles on the podium when the national anthem played instantly comes to the mind. Unknown names, and faces, suddenly became the topic of discussion at water-points and dinner tables. Those who would have been unknown to the neighborhood subziwallah a few days back, had small children gunning for their autographs, looking upto them with respect and awe, wanting to be like them, and cheering in the stands waving banners with their names written. For players like Deepika Kumari, the archery gold medalist from Jharkhand, years of living in abject poverty and anonymity, the worth of those years was realized in that one moment, which DD captured in a beautiful manner in the shot for each podium winner - with their emotion filled faces looking up at the flag while singing the anthem in one half of the TV screen, the Tricolor being hoisted in the other half, and their sport represented at the bottom of the screen by a shuttlecock, or ball, or bow etc. Images that will not be forgotten (hopefully) for a long time. These games mean so much more to these athletes than we can imagine, and should be the answer to the skeptics who wondered whether it was worth spending the thousands of crores on a "party" (as Chetan Bhagat put it), when it could have been used for "development". Was this not development? And are people really naive enough to believe that if the games had not been organized, that money would have ever actually gone to the poor? Anyway, not the things I want to focus on. For me, the legacy of the games was what I mentioned above, and it truly was, a coming out event, in more ways than one.
And before I forget, a BIG Shout out to the voulnteers of Delhi United (including my friends, Anirudh and Isha), who, as everyone has acknowledged, were a major force behind the successful conduct of the games. I really feel that I missed out on a once in a lifetime opportunity.
