Kerala rolled the red carpet to receive the participants of the 35th National Games as the opening ceremony of the 15-day event was marked with both glitter and glamour in full measure.
The three-hour-long programme at the new Greenfield stadium in Kariyavattom, in short, was a memorable affair all along as it stood out for the diversity of the art forms on show and enthusiastic crowd participation.
And consequently, there was never a dull moment right from start to finish after the show got underway, after a prelude which had percussion as its base, with the march past of the athletes led by Services, the overall champion over the last two editions of the Games and host Kerala bringing up the rear.
Warm greeting
The entry of the IOA flag too was greeted with warmth by the crowd as it was trooped in six former internationals and hoisted.
The Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, the Sports Minister, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, the Union Minister of State for Sports, Sarbananda Sonowal and the IOA president N. Ramachandran briefly spoke before the Union Minister for Urban Development, M. Venkaiah Naidu declared the Games open.
Brilliant display
The night skies were lit up with a brilliant display of pyrotechnics, following this formal declaration by the chief guest before Ammu, the Games mascot, arrived in fanfare to earn a hearty greeting.
All eyes were thereafter on the Games torch which was brought in and taken through one lap by thirty former internationals before K.M. Beenamol, the first winner of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna from the State, had the honour to turn it over to cricket icon and Goodwill Ambassador of the Games, Sachin Tendulkar.
Tendulkar, in turn, was to hand the torch over P.T. Usha and Anju Bobby George, before spreading the flame to the cauldron shaped in the form of a traditional Kerala lamp.
The sports protocol was to end with the oath taking on behalf of the participants by the Kerala captain, Preeja Sreedharan, leaving the stage open to the much awaited cultural extravaganza.
The highlight of the artistic intervention was the ‘war cry’ sounded by dancers led by Malayalam superstar Mohanlal.
It was in more ways than one a glowing tribute to the freedom fighters who fought against the yoke of foreign rule with the hero himself appearing in the role of the great commander, Kunjali Marikkar.
And then the show was to turn musical with Mohanlal again on the lead of India Singing, with singers like Udit Narayan, M.G. Sreekumar and Sujatha belting out a mix of classical songs dating back to the period from 1931 to 1980.
A great beginning to the Games which is certain to unfold equally brilliant performances!
