Commonwealth Games Yesterday, today and tomorrow

A.J. Philip

HOW fickle-minded the public could be was demonstrated by Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. In one of the most memorable speeches ever made by a demagogue, Antony changed the mind of the Romans from supporting Brutus to baying for his blood. He demonstrated how easily public opinion could be changed.

New Delhi is now witnessing a similar phenomenon. When the curtains came up on the Commonwealth Games on the evening of October 3, not many in the country were sure that everything would end as planned. They were not to be blamed because a host of negative reports had appeared in the media which showed the organisers as bumbling nincompoops.

A few calamitous incidents like the collapse of a foot over-bridge under construction near the Commonwealth Games village raised serious questions about the Organising Committee’s ability to stage a show the world would compare with the spectacular manner in which China organised the Beijing Olympics two years earlier.

Small wonder that when Suresh Kalmadi, the man behind the Games, took to the podium on the inaugural day, he had to face some measure of hooting from the spectators, the same spectators who gave a thumbs-up a few minutes later to the Pakistani contingent.

In cheering the Pakistani team, they showed how discerning they were by keeping India’s political rivalry with Pakistan aloof when it came to welcoming sportspersons from that neighbouring country. Millions of Indians who watched the show on television screens had only one prayer in their heart that the inaugural should remain a memorable event.

They were not disappointed when Indian President Pratibha Patil and Prince Charles, who represented Queen Elizabeth of Britain, jointly inaugurated the 2010 Commonwealth Games. What the 60,000 spectators at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium saw in the next couple of hours were breath-taking events that showcased India’s cultural diversity from Kerala’s sensuous Mohiniattam to Manipur’s classical dance form Manipuri.

Even those who were sceptical about India’s preparedness to host the Games and were rattled by reports that the newly-built Games village was far from liveable changed their minds when, after the initial hiccups, foreign delegates started praising the superb arrangements made for their comfort by the Organising Committee.

Lead stories in newspapers were no longer about leaking taps and blocked drainages in the flats at the Games village but about the extravagant treatment meted out to the visiting teams and their officials. For instance, a leading daily of the Capital detailed instance after instance of such officials getting costly knee-cap replacement surgeries and root canal treatments at the cost of the state exchequer.

But people no longer mind such largesse, for they have really been bitten by the Games bug. One only has to see how patiently motorists wait in long queues while vehicles with Games labels zoom past on the dedicated lane of the same road. They know that the lane would be theirs once the Games are over.

The same people who complained about turning Connaught Place, the heart of the Capital built by the British, “upside down” in the name of beautifying the area are today happy that the dilapidated facades where weeds grew luxuriously have got a fresh coat of paint and they reflect the glory of modern India.

Nobody grudges the electric power wasted on illuminating the ‘India Gate’ and other monuments like the tower that commemorates the 1857 revolt against the British, called the “First War of Independence”.

Even glaring glitches are overlooked as, for instance, when a huge electronic score board, erected at a cost of over $200,000 came crashing down for no other reason than that it was improperly fixed. Of course, the incident was reported but not on the front pages and in prime-time broadcasts.

Nit-picking is no longer the job of the media which is otherwise busy with the impressive performance of Indian sportspersons.

India has never been known for its sporting talents. In the Olympics it used to win gold in hockey only till the Europeans learnt the game and began defeating India and Pakistan. Worse, India did not even qualify for the hockey event at the Beijing Olympics.

And when, for the first time, in the history of the over a billion-strong India, Abhinav Bindra won an individual gold medal in Beijing Olympics, it occasioned a national celebration. Nobody bothered about the fact that an American won half a dozen gold medals in the same Olympics!
Things seem to have changed for the better. With one more week to go for the Commonwealth Games, India has already proved its sporting prowess. Though it is way behind Australia in terms of medals won, it has overtaken England and Canada, considered the strongest among the Commonwealth countries.

What’s more important, Indian athletes have started winning medals in not just wrestling but gymnastics too. When an Indian girl Kavita Raut finished third in the 10,000 metre run, it created a record of sort. It should be remembered that the last individual medal for a Commonwealth Games track event was Milkha Singh’s gold in 1958!

What’s more, this gutsy girl from Nashik in Maharashtra state won the bronze medal against heavy odds. For Raut, practice meant fetching water every day from a distance of about 10 kms. Be it weight-lifting, shooting, archery or women’s hockey, Indians have been doing exceptionally well.

If anything, the Commonwealth Games proves that a country, whose economy is in fine shape, does well in other fields too. China proved it earlier and India is proving it now. No longer are questions raised about the billions of rupees spent on the Games. Instead, questions are asked how better the Games could have been organised.

What the whole country is waiting for is the closing ceremony on the 14th and the final medal tally. If the event is as spectacular as the inaugural and India maintains at least the second position in the overall tally of medals, the Games would go down as a watershed in India’s history.