[I can see the Commonwealth Games from the insides, as I am posted at the most amazing Talkatora now SP Mukherjee Swimming Complex next to the world class Boxing stadium. All foreign swimmers have no complaints except there is no hot water in the showers at times and as a swimmer let me tell you hot water opens muscles and foreigners are not used to cold baths. The food stalls are not open, and swimmers spend hours with no food. Some confusion on the contract and outlays. The Security is very repeated, and time consuming but otherwise they say this is the best they have seen and are experiencing. As an Indian I feel proud but those poor beautiful sleek bodies get security frisk checked three times by police as I get massaged too to, to get in.]
By Ranjit Rai
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| The Delhi Commonwealth Games Inaugural Session |
Many thoughts crossed my mind for those who do not live near here, or in
You all will listen to, and see sports on TV only where India will win medals and where VIPs go to JN Stadium - Shooting, Tennis, Wrestling, Boxing, Weightlifting and may be one or two Bronze by chance in athletics and swimming. The famous Khazan Singh is with me and a smart Navy Cdr Alloutte pilot looks after the venue. So I am in luck.
I can see the Commonwealth Games from the insides, as I am posted at the most amazing Talkatora now SP Mukherjee Swimming Complex next to the world class Boxing stadium. All foreign swimmers have no complaints except there is no hot water in the showers at times and as a swimmer let me tell you hot water opens muscles and foreigners are not used to cold baths. The food stalls are not open, and swimmers spend hours with no food. Some confusion on the contract and outlays. The Security is very repeated, and time consuming but otherwise they say this is the best they have seen and are experiencing. As an Indian I feel proud but those poor beautiful sleek bodies get security frisk checked three times by police as I get massaged too to, to get in.
Let the CWG Games Begin Today stay at home if you live in
I now learn how every body from our President, Sheila, Gill, Kalmadis, hanger- ons etc. etc. down to low down federation officials called OC (OC you see in Blue) have traveled abroad regularly at the drop of a hat in the last 5 years with local sanctions to meetings, obscure games, baton relays and are now learned and ready to bid for the Olympics. Those in RED are 2000 volunteers from colleges working for free and my volunteer in mass communications is from Patiala and living in a Gurdwara he wants to learn B'casting Ann TV tricks. He is learning. I am happy for that.
No Olympics in my time Sir, one CWG scandal is enough but our children will see that, and we are assured like a second marriage, it will be better. More scandal ? We must ask Shashi when he stays in Kotah House again. VIP suites are excellent and empty many times. The food for its price is not bad, and the bar is cheap, though the Air Force Golf Club has the coldest beer and best Bloody Maries and Tom Collins in town, with a golf course to boot which rich Navy buying 14 Boeing 737s and Gorshkovs cannot afford. GAG will object to naval officers being on land and enjoying themselves. That's the way, we are.
In fact I tell Navy, all jobs ashore can be done by women, those in category ( Many) and handicapped, better after all, all they do is just files and ceremonial( Women look better for that) "Men should Be Men" and be at sea like Nelson. No one in
But if you stand up tall like ex NDA Kalmadi is doing today, you get what you want for
CWG is just a learning curve for us we are told, and we needed to fail a little, like the 1962 war Henderson Brookes type of secrecy. Its part of growing up, and I seem to agree. My kids fell many times and are doing OK now. Many of us did not want to fail. And see where we are now, waiting for OROP and failing. When Army was told to build bridges the Chiefs should have stood up, first give OROP its only 800 crores that is national prestige I would have thought, but they are busy preparing for war.
I recall MOD refused the services senior officers to go to Farnborough when Rahul ordered all to save money and said the world is going to come to us at Aero India. What can you learn about
I truly see how pleased foreign athletes and Officials at CWG are. Poor Indian athletes have been told "get on, get Gold and get Rs 20 lakhs". We have to look after the foreigners and officials first you are "Ghar Ka log go receive the barat".
Of course 30% of monies for CWG has been kept away for rainy days, by people who rule us and tell us a bridge which fell was not for the athletes but for us, for our kin to collect LIC Insurance. We must accept that . They tell us, our standards are different from foreigners in many ways, and this is one of them. Let's not beat our chests in the media about it, our leaders tell us that is the way
Our GOP ruling party did this all for us in
I have few Mutual Funds and stocks. My wife has few FDs to see us through the first part of the 21st Century and they say it’s called DEBT. When the market crashed she was Happy and she said, " You fool, I told you go for FDs at least I have some return ...your corpus is now 50% you will make us die in penury". Today with the market at 21000 I tell her see I joined the Navy, I was smart, and see it will touch 30,000 it says on CNBC. I pray daily, and if Man Mohan in a warm seat knows its black money doing this Mei mange More.
But when you see those RED Buses with pilot cars, blue Tata cars going down blocked roads in
I noted the Army built a rugged Bailey Bridge for Rs 90 lakhs (1 lakh = one hundred thousand) and a slightly better one cost Sheila's and Reddy's team Rs 10 crores and lets be honest a political party will need the money for the coming elections and to keep economist Manmohan in a warm seat. The only thing I worry as an ex spook is every thing in CWG is dependant on Net Centricity, Connectivity and Internet for CWG. I hope there is no clever cyber attack. A company called SIS and Tissot Swiss Timing for the games and huge MTNL systems for over 1000 crores ( 1 crore = 100 thousand) for all stadiums, TV and Radio and record keeping are the life lines run by Goras, as are the Competitions. Some computer geek or foreign country may try, as I know Cyber stuff is key. When my computer gets virus I go
All Data and records which I call Intelligence, on the past performance and bio of athletes comes up on in a special screen while I am commentating and so less home work and if you can handle computers its fun you can enter a name and get all details and then Yap as if you are a host of knowledge. Sports like synchronized swimming If DD shows, you must watch , its very graceful called ballet in the water set to music even classical, and the bodies of all swimmers are streamlined like Baywatch.
Much technology by Wiz craft will be on display at the opening with Lasers and Bose speakers and for the military it should be compulsory for the Signals guys to go and see the patching, panels etc like we have in ships, servers and how the data has been fed by a huge System manned by some 30 Goras called General News Service GNS at the media centre which I guess will be what DIA should have if they were co-located near a Joint Ops Room Is there one ? The nation should know that so you can phone if you see something wrong. These numbers are secret and you have to ring Delhi Police. He will come running if he can make a buck.
Till the media exposed the corruption, it was a private $ 20 bill affair for the CWG and those in power but its working out fine ... a high price to pay but worth it. Enjoy the CWG. I am sure