‘Delhi-dallying’ dies down as Games live up

Not long ago did we witness a lot of negative publicity surrounding Delhi in nexus to the 2010 Commonwealth Games during the build-up stages. 



As the games closed we read about a change that seemed quite dramatic.


Had an alien read both of the reports he would have found it quite comical and would have been bemused by our over-reactions.


The opening and closing ceremonies oozed grandeur bringing out the cultural richness of the country. India did it as grand as it can get. More importantly the Indian sportsmen did pretty well trailing only behind ‘Always Australia’ [Not so much so in cricket though]. The athletes from various nationalities seemed to enjoy the arrangements.


The aftermath of the eventful event has seen the Indian government instigate inquiries on the games’ organisers on charges of corruption. We keenly await results on these.


So what is the verdict?


There have been exaggerated criticisms at the beginning and over-reacted praises at the end.


Depends on how you look at it - the monitoring & controlling aspect or the crisis management bit - this commonwealth Games, no doubt, happens to be a good case scenario for project managers.


The former, would fall under ‘how not to do it’ and latter ‘how exactly to do it’. Not always would we want a crisis leave alone manage it. While we give India marks in pulling this off, it is time the Indian psych stopped comparing its mega events to their marriages [chaotic start, happy ending]. For, the job gets done, agreed, but why give heart-attacks to people along the way, especially to those who are not used to it? More importantly the age-old curse of corruption needs a complete shake-up and clean-up at all levels.


Nonetheless this should not divert our attention from the inconsistent media reports. If the end was that good, easy and manageable, were the reports at the beginning meaningless and exaggerated?


‘Is it just straight bullying of developed nations on developing nations simply because they are developing?’ I had asked in the previous post.


How do we analyse this lapse in reporting? Is it a matter of haste? Is it bias? Or is it just ignorance on not being able to comprehend a cultural element?


When we look back at the Athens 2004 summer Olympics we are given to believe all of the above.


Though there were vast differences between these two events one thing was common for sure.


The Athens’ event was also severely criticised, like the Delhi games, for under-preparation prior to the start and many reported that things would not be ready on time.


Athens surprised its detractors by coming out in flying colours. Not just that but they went on to make fun of their critics. Construction workers put up a mock show even after the successful start of the event, pretending to be still working.


So do we spot a pattern?


It’s a point worth pondering about.