Sep 25, 2010
The well-known writer Paulo Coelho in his most famous work The Alchemist says, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Farah Khan made a close translation of this statement in her Om Shanti Om, still, it is yet to be proved if such a thing as that can really happen. Especially when you consider that India wanted to bring home the Commonwealth Games so badly that we reportedly stooped to what we are best at – bribery. Yet, with all that wanting, it seems more likely that the entire universe is conspiring in sabotaging the Games.
Perhaps back in 2003, when India raised its hand higher than the rest of the world to get the CWG cake, our officials forgot their spectacles at home and thus could read only the ‘Wealth’ part of the Commonwealth Games. With so much wealth to be ‘common’ly shared, who wouldn’t want to shell out a few bucks to get a lot more? And then, seven years later, luckily, they realised there was a catch to the contract – the Games part. Like those small prints in insurance documents, it came as a jolt. And like our typical reactions to those small prints, our officials too began to bravely defend themselves, while knowing fully well their own culpability.
Apart from the money-making business that it has been, the Commonwealth Games has at least kept the world in good humour, though, of course, at our cost (that word ‘cost’ seems such a joke). British, Australian and Canadian media have been at their wittiest best, or rather, their sarcastic best, while our own media people get up every morning in the hope of being able to report at least some small positive news about the CWG. But all they get to hear is the sound of the collapsing roof, the noise of the crashing bridge, the din made by crumbling roads, the racket about filthy living conditions and of course, more withdrawals by top athletes.
In fact, no more does such news worry us - for all you know, the universe is indeed conspiring in helping us to achieve our dream of bagging bags of gold medals. More the number of athlete withdrawals, better the chances our own athletes have. That’s perhaps why our officials still have the audacity to declare to the world that there’s nothing to worry about, and Suresh Kalmadi can actually say he could have it all ready in a matter of one hour!
The good news is that Australia, England and New Zealand have mustered the courage to participate in the Games. And some of them have even arrived. So what if some of their top athletes are missing in action? There are better things to worry about, like what suit to wear for the opening ceremony.
On a serious note, there is no doubt that we have lost a golden opportunity here. And the sad part is that the damage is already done – even if the Games were to go on smoothly, it would take a miracle to clean up the mess we made of it. We may be forgiven, but the world would think twice about letting India host an international event of this magnitude, and we shouldn’t be surprised if, in the process, we managed to jeopardise our rights to co-host the next cricket World Cup too. Of course, cricket is a totally different matter and thankfully there would be no need for a Village to accommodate thousands of athletes. And for sure, BCCI is far better and cleverer than our CWG committee. At least it follows a moderate diet.
(Now that word ‘Village’ makes me wonder – did our CWG committee actually mistake it to mean an Indian village? If so, they have every right to be so confident!)
South Africa, like us, is a Third World nation, but unlike us, it so easily and efficiently hosted a world class event, without even so much as a whimper. What’s more, FIFA has even gone on to declare the South Africa Football World Cup the best in history. CWG 2010, on the other hand, is well on its way to be declared the worst ever, though of course we all fervently hope not. But the more you think of the Games, the more it seems like a petty school sports day, or to be a little more generous, an inter-school sports event where it doesn’t matter if the flag falls down the pole, or the rope in tug-of-war snaps at the first pull or the tracks are full of sharp stones. To be sure, even the penguins in Antarctica would be waiting with baited breath for some overhead light to go off during the CWG opening ceremony. And the British, Canadian and Australian wisecracks would sharpen their tongues even more while their smiles become wide enough to accommodate another 32 teeth.
A friend of mine had a beautiful phrase to describe our frustration at the way CWG preparations are going. She called it ‘negative patriotism’ – that is, intense hope to succeed mixed with cynicism. We all want the Games to begin, go on and end on a positive note. We want to be proud of our nation and show the world what we are capable of. And then come the corrupt officials who snatch away those dreams. We are annoyed by the people who have been putting our pride at stake for the sake of money, and infuriated at their lackadaisical attitude and their totally unprofessional approach. From Bollywood stars to the paanwalla, each and everyone has been vocal in expressing the nation’s disgruntlement. Media has often been blamed for creating unnecessary hype, but this time, we need to thank the media for keeping the CWG guys on their toes.
Just the other day, an Aussie journalist entered the CWG arena with a detonation kit enough to cause 200 explosions. And he walked in without any problem – not one guard stopped him or even threw him a glance. Perhaps the guard took him to be someone from the Commonwealth Federation come on a visit, or perhaps the brilliant, dazzling white skin blinded his sight. One only hopes they don’t mistake an AK-47 to be a toy gun.
All said and done, it’s tiresome to be so cynical about something we should actually have been proud of. The only thing we can do is pray that the health of the Commonwealth Games improves and that as a nation, we do not become a casualty. And who is to be blamed? Not to worry, there will be a full-fledged commission to investigate (perhaps headed by Kalmadi himself), and by the time it comes up with an answer to the whodunit, the human species will be near extinction.
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