by Nia
[box]What was it like being part of the team organizing one of India’s biggest events in 2010? Nia recounts her experience working on the Commonwealth Games.[/box]“To your left is the VVIP box, where the Queen will be seated”. I turned to my left and all I could see was some rubble. I looked at the site Superintendent Engineer of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi; he seemed to know exactly what he was talking about. This was less than a year before the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi and at the venue of the Opening Ceremony of the Games.
By this time, media reports poured in of how construction of venues was running well behind schedule. And that was only the beginning of a wave of negative publicity surrounding the Games. More and worse was to come in the following months. However, the turning point was the spectacular Opening Ceremony and the 12 days of brilliant competition that followed, ensured that the Games will be remembered as a success, despite everything else.
For many of us working for the Games, the journey that ended with the handing over of the Commonwealth Games to the next host, Glasgow, began much earlier.
I could perhaps best explain our journey through some of the experiences that made our association with the Games memorable.
Visits to the venues gave me the first real feel of the Games and put in perspective the magnitude of the event. I had heard of transformations, but visiting the venues over the course of the last year were actual lessons in transformation! And the best example for me would be the showcase Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium itself. Every visit held something new for us. Seeing the vision of the site engineer materialize so beautifully and seeing it in its gleaming splendour on the day of the Opening Ceremony was truly special. And in many ways this transformation signified the making of the Games itself, from dust to glory…
We were watching the launch of the Queen’s Baton Relay in London in September 2009, on a giant screen put up outside our office, when crowds joined us out of curiosity. Soon they joined our cheers and this marked the beginning of interest in the Games, at least among the Delhiites.
Starting early 2010, test events were held across various venues in preparation for the Games. These events helped us to better understand the real stars of the Games- the athletes. Their dedication, hard work and humility made our small efforts seem worthwhile! By the end of the shooting championship, I was able to differentiate between trap and skeet shooting and had seen ammunition I had never seen before! I remember getting goosebumps seeing three Indian flags go up at the medal ceremony for one of the shooting events.
For years, the mango tree rooted in Indian soil with some branches stretching over Pakistani territory at the Wagah border, has seen the ‘retreat ceremony’, where border forces from India and Pakistan conduct an energy packed drill, which reinforces, above all else, the significance of the boundary separating the two nations. However, on 25 June 2010, the tree was witness to a different kind of ceremony.
Large crowds were present, just as usual, but the atmosphere was a far cry from the everyday affair. The border gates were opened and people on either side were ready to welcome the Queen’s Baton 2010 Delhi, as it completed its international leg and was to enter India via the Wagah border. That day made it evident why indeed it was called the Friendly Games.
We were rapidly approaching D-day and August and September 2010 proved to be, rather unusually, some of the wettest months that Delhi had seen. The bright spot came with the unveiling of the Aerostat, the centre of attraction during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. It wasn’t raised to its full height yet, allowing us to appreciate how everything else in the stadium appeared so tiny in comparison!
By this time, the Games mascot Shera was gaining immense popularity in the city and across the country by its presence during the Queen’s Baton Relay. Everyone wanted to be photographed with Shera, age no bar!
The highlight of the Games Village opening was the main dining hall. We were lucky to be one of the first to actually sample the sumptuous meals that were to be served to the athletes. Food from practically all over the world vied for our attention.
Then, the countdown reduced from months to days and the buzz in the office in the last ten days before the Games was there for everyone to see.
And once the Games began, outside the office, a giant screen transmitted the Games live. Large crowds used to gather to catch all the action and the excitement was infectious. The Opening Ceremony really turned things around like I mentioned earlier and brought in a stronger belief that we could pull this off well.
Personally for me, it was heartening to see people cheer on athletes they had never heard of before and witness the electric atmosphere that events like athletics, badminton, boxing and wrestling generated. Around 81 Commonwealth Games records were broken at this edition in Delhi. 70 was the number of records broken at Manchester 2002-the second highest. This after many ‘top athletes withdrew’. Athletes from varied disciplines like archery, athletics, boxing, wrestling, shooting, tennis, gymnastics etc., making it to the front page of the national dailies! Can’t remember the last time that happened. This, when the India-Australia cricket series was on.
There were, of course, plenty of lessons to be learnt but the biggest of them all was that we can if we really want to. The Games bid had a ‘vision’ to ‘inculcate sports consciousness’ in Indians (in sports other than cricket i.e.). For me, this definitely was a start. The success of Indian athletes at the recently concluded Asian Games is hopefully a sign of better things to come in Indian Sport.
The author was part of the organizing committee of the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi.
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