Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

A touch of Telugu flavour to grand show

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD Dec. 22. The party ended the way it began. As the razzamatazz of fireworks and laser show with pearls splitting the dark skies dissolved, there was a poignant feeling all round the G.M.C. Balayogi at Gachibowli here on Sunday.

The packed gathering were still getting out of the heady feeling of being part of arguably the grandest show in this part of the country. The spirit of sportsmanship combined with the nationalistic fervour as the `Olympian dream' ignited by the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, spread across.

If the inaugural ceremony of the `best and largest' National Games showcased the multi-cultural milieu of the nation, the concluding event had a touch of local, Telugu flavour, to be more precise. It also cast a reflective mood among the sportspersons even if some of them danced as the curtains came down.

Ramachari and his little musicians stole the hearts with their sonorous rendering of a patriotic song followed by stars, Srikanth, Uday Kiran, Tarun, Sunil and Laya swung to the beats of a Manisharma composed, S.P. Balasubramanium sung number with the national flags fluttering in the arms of hundreds of children.

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, himself set the tone with his greetings in Telugu `Sodara Sodarimanulu...' and before that he addressed the dignatories with a `garu' as in ``Chandrababu Naidu garu, Rangarajan garu, Kalmadi garu...''

Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Nagarjuna, Amala, Azhar, Sangeeta, Vivek Oberoi and others were among the VIP stands. Of course, the gorgeous and svelte Aishwarya Rai shone prominently as she was repeatedly waved and cheered so was Mr. Naidu by the sportspersons and audience.

Ms. Rai too befitting the occasion asked aloud, `Hyderabad Bagunnara?!'' to wild cheers. For a change unlike the opening day, the spectators too joined the music beats waving the colourful cloth pieces and struck a rhythm with the sticks provided in the kit.

``Hyderabad is the pearl of India,'' she said and felt the games set a benchmark for sports in the country and she bid goodbye to the popular mascot `Veera'. Volunteers, who did a splendid job, held up banners seeking Afro-Asian Games and even Olympics to the city. Uttaranchal squad thoughtfully spread out a message thanking the host while Assam welcomed everyone for the next games there.

When it appeared that the Prime Minister's officials were in a hurry, the Chief Minister prevailed upon them and Mr. Vajpayee was there almost till the end. He did watch Shanker Mahadevan perform his `breathless' act before leaving. Crane camera of Doordarshan and the crystal clear giant screen had the spectators transfixed but it went off a few times. Shanker with his co-musicians Ehsaan and Loy belted out the games song plus the popular `Duniyawalon' as the children who toiled hard during the ceremonies danced in joy. Certainly, it was 10 days of fun and excitement in the twin cities. And, it was not due to cricket!

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