Games Off To A Perfect Start

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If an event can have all sides of India’s fractious political spectrum sitting in silence alongside each other — as they were at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday night — it must be something pretty big, pretty special.
The crisp, colourful and tightly coordinated opening ceremony of the 19th Commonwealth Games managed just that.
Dr Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj, L.K. Advani and a host of bigwigs sat in companionable peace as the curtain went up in spectacular style on a sultry New Delhi night. It was an extravaganza that blended tradition and technology in a smooth mix before 60,000 enthralled spectators.
After months of hearing about delays and missed deadlines, the opening was timed like clockwork. As President Pratibha Patil walked in with Prince Charles, it was two minutes past 7 pm.
That was the last hitch for the night as the Delhi sky exploded into a frenzy of colour and light before morphing into a musical routine that left spectators with sore palms and a lump in their throats.
In between, the much-touted “aerostat” rose to much acclaim and applause, becoming a screen of sorts to reflect and support the action and activity underneath.
In a major break from the past, the teams strolled in — much as they would do at the closing of most other Games — led by traditional medal-toppers Australia. Going by the smiles and giggles of three women athletes of the squad pulled out of the parade by a TV interviewer, all the problems they had either anticipated or faced had long vanished, especially in the razzle-dazzle of the fiesta around them.
A number of participants in fact left almost immediately after completing their walk-through lap of the stadium, expectedly so after reports that several of the top sides were unwilling to expose their athletes to either security or health risks.
The Games were declared open following speeches by a few of the dignitaries, who included International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, Prince Albert of Monaco and former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (who drew the biggest cheers, other than Team India, on the night).
India walked in to a rapturous welcome from the jampacked stands led by India’s sole Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra. The contingent, easily the biggest at these Games, was distinctly visible with maroon sherwanis for the men and red and green saris for the women.
Long before the last firework had sputtered out and the last note had died away, it had become clear that the trauma and shame of the last few weeks had — at least for Sunday night — been effectively banished. It may even have set the tone for the Games themselves.