And Tamasha it is. The tamasha of potholed roads, the tamasha of leaking stadiums, the tamasha of government's denials, the tamasha of opposition's vocal protests and the tamasha of never-ending creepy scandals. On top of that, the sports minister has this to say in the Rajya Sabha - "What's there to examine? Nothing's ready!.. If the baraat is coming we'll welcome it with fanfare". I'm not sure who exactly he is trying to mock, because the joke is really on him. His comments seem to reflect the chalta hai attitude that our politicians find so much comfort in. I almost think they are feeling noble by trying to appear calm after having pocketed bori after bori of public money. In the midst of it all, the common man is facing his own dilemmas - whether he should be hopeful or practical and whether indeed, he should attend or boycott the games!
Indian Football star Baichung Bhutia today said that India should never have bid for the games in the first place. That's a big statement coming from the Indian captain who says he always knew that infrastructurally, India was not yet there. But he too is feeling that he has to go along with it, now since there's no looking back. It's sad to see the athletes, who the CWG is actually supposed to be about, are hardly getting any media coverage, thanks to the scams unfolding by the minute. Instead, what they are getting are tennis courts that are universally condemned for causing knee/ankle injury!! And what does Suresh Kalamadi have to say about it - Well he says that all the scams coming to light are with other committees like MCD, NDMC and so forth and that no one can raise a finger at the OC. I wonder what an "organizing" committee is supposed to be doing if it is unwilling to take responsibility for the show. He also said that the reason most of the work started after 2007 was because it's hard to get timely approvals by the government. This makes me think that Mr. Kalmadi was either new to Indian politics or was hopelessly hopeful to make things work despite his knowledge of the flaws in the system. No, it was really a third reason. I think he saw this as an opportunity of a lifetime to secure the future of his generations to come. I really hope that those found guilty are punished severely, at least more severely than just sacking them from their posts. And God save them if they as much as mutter a word about holding the 2019 Olympics!
