October 3, 2010, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
With bated breath, the world witnessed the unfolding of the Commonwealth Games 2010. Amidst all the cheering at the inaugural function held at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, were questions looming large, quite like the floating aerostat at the venue. If this impressive is the spectacle then what was all the hullabaloo about adisaster waiting to happen?
If at the venue the crowd of 60,000 could unite in jubilation at India's success, then what about those disgruntled voices predicting the failure of the Games? If the media went overboard in reporting the drawbacks and splashed charges of massive corruption, then what about the world class stadiums, superb hospitality and top class facilities that the foreign guests thanked the country for?
There must be some deep-rooted causes at the base of these contradictions which demoralised people on one hand and then as if by magic the disarray fell into an organised, mindboggling spectacle.
Some call it miracle, others, divine intervention, and I perceive it as man-made chaos. Complacency with which Indians are so familiar with, is the cause of the fiasco. Whenever we organise any big scale event, the average Indian's attitude is marked by carelessness, disorganisation and lack of commitment . Why only Commonwealth Games? What about the Asiadin 1982? Between the Asiad and CWG the time gap may be huge, but our attitude, work culture or perception are the same.
In 1982, the world was watching us and we at Doordarshan were biting our nails as the cameras and other equipment were still coming two days prior to the games. But again something happened and Asiad became a historic moment for the country.
India committed in 2003 to host the CWG and the years merrily passed on. One isn't fully aware of the backstage drama, but complacency and smugness were evident till the last month when unprecedented rain and media backlashing broke the myth that everything was fine.
Oh yes, the inauguration was indeed spic and span and it dazzled the world, but at what cost? By then India's image had taken a severe beating, worldwide.
We savour our freedom without thinking of the fire that ignited the hearts of the pre-independence generation. Leaders led common men and women to save the honour and prestige of their motherland. The shameful acts of corruption and insensitivity, unpatriotic utterings for the games' failure do point that somewhere down the line, the roots of patriotism have been shaken and rendered weak.
The Commomwealth Games brought out the best and the worst in us. It mirrored the national psyche. There are law abiding citizens, hard-working labour force, young volunteers doing their bit to make the Games a success along with thousands of Indians praying for it. And then there are detractors and Mir Jafars who spared no effort to sabotage the event. This negativity and an almost sadistic streak to hurt our own country's image does put a question mark on our love for the motherland.
Our media became the conscience keeper of the society and shocked us by reporting relentlessly on the glitches and charged various agencies for corruption. To a certain extent it did a commendable job of highlighting the messy state of affairs and jolted the cadres from their smugness and led them to put their house in order. I rescanned the newspapers of the past months to refresh my memory. Headlines glared with pictures of bridge collapse, uneven pavements, stray dogs and of course the dreadful snakes in the Games village. But sadly, the world class stadiums, the delicious food and the great facilities at the venues could not find a place as prominently as did the stories of corruption.
Of course, the praise by the Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell and guest athletes did put a balm on sore nerves. One assumes that a little restraint and balance in reporting could have saved the image of our country to a large extent.
And now that the defining moment is done with, the euphoria will vanish with time but the introspection and soul-searching has to continue to reinvent the image of India. India's human potential is enormous and dynamic. They have the strength and capability to transform the bizarre into a picture perfect spectacle.This charismatic human potential only requires proper channelling and honest guidance.
