Incredible India !
…..Just enjoyed the Live telecast on National Television of the Spectacular Opening Ceremony in New Delhi of the XIX Commonwealth Games….7000 athletes and accompanying officials from 71 Nations…viewed by over 60000 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and on TV by billions across the globe
….Fabulous and Colourful…beautiful and breathtaking and varied traditional performances on a huge canvas…fantastic choreography with hitech support….the aerostat is magnificient
…enjoyed the Patanjali Yoga and the Kundalini with the Seven Chakras that emerged….lovely idea to showcase vignettes of common life all around India through a Train Journey….the dances …the songs…the depiction on large canvas of the rhythms and the rich cultural heritage of India has to be lived…we have been doing this for centuries…no nation on earth can replicate this
….felt warm when Pakistan got a warm and roaring welcome when their contingent walked in……
…..Huge roars also rolled out as the huge and popular contingents from Australia,Canada,England and New Zealand marched in…..but the biggest deafening and sustained roar was for India…..as host nation,India paraded in last with the largest contingent of 620 athletes and officials with Abhinav Bindra a proud flag bearer of our tricolour…later he also took the Oath on behalf of all athletes
Clicked from my mobile a few glimpses on TV…so pardon the grainy effect
…and my daughter had called…she was watching the Ceremony on TV at the Football Camp in Gandhinagar…with her team mates and coaches of the India Girls u 16 Football Team ….she leaves next week for Jordan to play the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA u 17 Womens World Cup next year….she called to say it was awesome and she was inspired by the Opening Ceremony and her Team’s mood and spirit has been uplifted….feel so warm at this…Thank you God for giving my child such a glorious opportunity at such a young age
We’ve had addresses by Games Heads,Suresh Kalmadi and Mike Fennel….and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh….then we had the Queens Baton Relay…the Baton was brought into the Stadium by Indian Boxer Vijender Singh,who passed it on to our World Champion Women Boxer,Mary Kom who relayed it to our Ace Shooter Samaresh Jung and who finally passed it on to our World beater Wrestler,Sushil Singh…and Sushil Singh presented the baton to Prince Charles…..Prince Charles then read out the Queens Message……then President Pratibha Patil addressed and declared the Games Open with a youthful flourish of her hands and Abhinav Bindra took the oath for all athletes and the Commonwealth Flag was unfurled
Incredible India…going to an inspired sleep with a glow and a smile…praying that the spirit and liveliness of the Opening Ceremony sustains in the eleven days of healthy competition that begins tomorrow
Cheers !
1 thought on “Spectacular Opening Ceremony in New Delhi for the XIX Commonwealth Games…..fabulous and colourful….7000 Athletes & Officials from 71 Nations….Swagatam !”
Hopefully the spirit not only sustains for the next eleven days but also for the years to come to build a broader sporting culture in India and give athletes the infrastructure and recognition they deserve.