CommonWealth Games

I didn't even know this existed but apparently there is a thing much like the Olympics but smaller.  Kinda like the Big Mele...Hawaii's version of Lollapalooza.  This unknown event happens every 4 years spaced between the Olympics.  Formerly known as the British Empire Games, the requirement for participating in an event...get this...the country had to have been governed or ruled by England at one point in time.  Damn world power.  Thankfully these are now independent sovereign states.  The Games gives little known countries a chance to participate in a world sporting event.  Still though, I don't see Samoans running the 800m race. 

The news leading up to the big event was nothing less than shameful.  Delhi had 7 years to prepare the city for the Games.  But still, as the Games had already proceeded there was much work to be done.  Construction was delayed because of the monsoon season.  Thousands of beggars still needed to be 'relocated'.  The Games Village where the athletes were to be housed had dog feces on the beds, bathrooms soiled, and even snakes were found slithering inside the rooms.  The claim was that the cleanliness and hygiene standards are different for westerners than they are for Indians.  I'm sorry but last I checked...not too many Indians are keen on sleeping on a bed of dog shit.  The news speculated corruption of the organizing committee with everybody pointing fingers at one another.  No one willing to take responsibility...which is typical of Indians we're learning.  There's always an excuse for something not happening on time.  It's quite frustrating to witness and be a part of.

Of course the whole thing piqued our curiousity so we just had to go.  Our lovely, new friend Jeremy was kind enough to get us tickets....at the furthest entry gate known to man kind.  We all met up at Gate 14...right next to the main stadium.  Like, right next to the stadium.  But lo and behold...our tickets said we had to enter Gate 6.  Which was abruptly placed...in no logical order...about a 4 mile walk from where we were standing.  It's one of those things where 'you just had to be there'.  We started our little jaunt all happy that we had made new friends and we were going to witness the CWG.  We were circumnavigating the stadium looking for the next gates...17, then 9, then...a detour that made us walk away from the stadium.  If there is a time to insert a 'double u - tee - eff then now is the time.  WTF?!  An hour and a half later we walked through security gates then finally were making our way back towards the stadium... *sigh of relief*.  Another half an hour and we were at another set of security gates but this time at the actual stadium.  We're still trying to make sense of the round-a-bout detour.  I was quite a grumbly girl by the time we sat down to watch people run around a track and fling themselves into sand pits.  To top things off we weren't allowed to eat or drink at our seats.  We had to smuggle in water because although it is 'autumn' it is still blazing hot here.  

I can't say I'd ever go to another Games again.  As I can now say that we did.  It could possibly be that Delhi has ruined it for me with their lack of preparation and their following boastfulness that the Games were a success...simply riding on the fact that the Opening Ceremony went off without a hitch.  I guess it's the cover-up mentality.  They are even saying that Glasgow (the next site for the Games) has a tough act to follow.  Puh-lease!  I'm beginning to think the Organizing Committee is delusional.  

Anyways...it was an experience to partake in and I'm glad we did.  We're told the city is cleaner than it was before.  Which is a shock because by western standards it is still a filthy city.  But it's good for Delhi.  Let's just hope they can keep it up.  And let's not forget...we made some new friends and those are hard to come by.   For everyone else in the world who has heard of the commonwealth games (ahem), this is a big deal, but unfortunately the games have now become nothing but an example in my work presentation slides of what is wrong with india (dont get me wrong...there are many many things right with india), but the commonwealth games fiasco is synonemous wtih things that happen every day in work when working with most indian suppliers, the mentality that no planning is needed but it'll turn out ok in the end.  the whole games were a farce, ceilings collapsing, brisges collapsing, unfinished projects, apathy yet still with the hope that no one will notice with a gloss of paint.  the lack of ownership - which im told by the indian press - is a cultural thing was summed up by an interview with the head of the games who said that 'it was no her responsibility to make these games go well, i am just a cog in the wheel'.  awesome.  we have a sister function/plant/company in China, and my counterpart is ironically called Glenn, we talk most days about india and china, and the differences are startling.  India is very much a democracy (with often too much talking/voting), yet china is a non democratic government, and the development of china v india is incredible, things in china just 'get done'...here it just gets talked about.  dont get me wrong, im not condoning many of the practices of the communist government, but if you imagine that india spent more money on the crappy commonwealth games than china did on the beijing olympics...then that says it all. 

Construction still going on!  Shameful!

The back of Jeremy's (our new friend) head.