Loading my every new day with surprises,
Every new visuals are marked with the “signature”,
That clearly defines the inevitable omnipresence of its “creator”!
As I sit down & write about Commonwealth Games 2010, popularly known as “CWG 2010”, I’ll have to admit my own “knowledge-based” infrastructure about the event may not be up to the mark to support my views about the showdown on our “part” of earth. But let’s see what I have to offer!
Now that the games are within “striking distance” all the possible human emotions have started playing on the minds of people located at each & every strata that is related to the event.
For me, it’s only now that these “mind-games” have taken quite a control of my mind as the time starts closing down.
My idea of Games has been governed by two behaviours of me:
· CWG 2010 – From the mind of an impression-ist,
· CWG 2010 – From the mind of an expression-ist,
CWG 2010 – From the mind of an impression-ist:
The very opportunity of holding big-scale games itself boosts the city & accounts for many developments to happen on a pacy scale. Same has happened with New Delhi . When the first set of “golden letters” talking about the developments that will happen for commenwealth games 2010 appeared in the newspapers, i was quite anxious to see what developments would happen in the name of the GAMES, and the list was huge & ambitious!
That “epic-list” consisted of some heartening necessities like “expansion of Delhi-metro routes, widened roads, many world-class sport arenas “etc.
The impact of the games was so proportionately spread-out that even the ground beneath our feet & our farthest skies were made aware of it. With such ambitions building, i only hoped for a better things to come in the future.
I admit that even I had gone a bit ambitious.
CWG 2010 – From the mind of an expression-ist:
Now when the games have arrived there’s lot to offer from the government in terms of “actions” & we- the people, in terms of “reactions”.
Once I had read that New Delhi has already made her mark by being the “wealthiest” Commonwealth Games organized so far with its total “assets” surpassing the previous best - Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.
But when it comes to the distribution of this “wealth”, it somehow starts showing on the city’s “health” and a further “check-up” of those ambitious “check-lists” brings out many expectedly harsh realities.
Amidst of all these scary “legal road-occupation” induced traffic jams, haphazard movement patterns, dust filled air-free surroundings, numerous dug-up holes (seeming far more purposeful & a fresh change from those governmental “loop-holes”) , large scale renovations & low-scale innovations on buildings, ever piling garbage dumps, etc., I would still say that in totality the Games have been a good opportunity for us not only to come up & match some celebrated “hi-tech-giant” cities but most importantly also to come up & create innovative, sustainable & meaningful solutions.
Talking about the built-forms, unfortunately there hasn’t been much visual delight in terms of aesthetics & design but one or two names are still worth mention, these are : JLN stadium & the Indira Gandhi Air-port. Hope this pattern improves in the future. The ancient-built heritage of New Delhi needs to be seriously dealt with. We still have many areas that need to be conserved properly e.x. the Purana Qila, the mosque in the Qutub etc. Hope this is also dealt with properly in the future.
Two biggest achievements during this “Games-reign” are “Delhi-metro expansion” & the “BRT-corridor”.
BRT-corridor, I think is a success for me. Apart from the better public transport, it has brought cyclists & their “cycling” back to life- alive & kicking! This is a welcome “greener sides” of the Games 2010, known more for their “darker sides”!
We have never been efficient organizers, and therefore the last year “scare” of Games being slipping from India’s hands wasn’t much of a surprise. It was good that the “scare” was short-lived. But the change is happening & we are improving, but this change will happen gradually. Some grievous issues of labour-exploitation, inadequate supply of funds through the “work-chain” , pillars falling off, etc. need to be addressed more severely & I hope it happens.
Being-green is the need of the hour & the more we conserve the more we’ll have for longer needs to be implemented properly. This also accounts for “judicious handling” of funds, the more we “blow-off” results in much more pressure on limited resources. This is where “vigilance-guys” come into the picture. They should keep an eye on these scams & should not spare any “wealthy-bummer”!
The overall appearance of the city has undergone a major “surgery”, but some of the “scars” (unwanted ugly fly-overs) unfortunately cannot be accepted & erased!
We still have done quite a bit in terms of “green & sustainability” for Games 2010 & that’s good start. Hope we fare better in the future! Culturally, it should be a rich experience, and hopefully New Delhi celebrates a rich cultural carnival with its “former-colonial mates”!
The future lies on being “sustainable” & this is what we need to pick up & infuse in our other “usual-preparations”.
Last but not the least:
We are now into the “Gaming” zone,
& the arrival of “queen’s baton” has set the tone,
For all the “showdown” to hit the centre-stage,
But the “mega-models” are still far from final-makeover backstage,
& within striking distance have “they” reached,
Here we still have many “hospitality” lessons to be preached,
I hope we are & we will be ready,
To celebrate the legacies of our erstwhile colonialists,
& together we all create one of the best “play-stations”!
By Akhil Nagar
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment