Those responsible for the CWG "fiasco" are probably quite relieved at this point. The games are half way through without any mishap. The weather has cooperated -- no rain, no leaks. The roofs have stayed suspended. No more brigdges have collapsed and so far, no one has complained of the "Delhi belly". They managed to put up a world class show and Indian sportspersons have done the country proud by winning a record number of Gold Medals so far. The organizers are probably patting themselves on their backs. They've "pulled it off". Now that there's general public euphoria about the medal tally, all will be forgotten and forgiven. The roofs did not leak, the tiles did not fall off, the bridge did not collapse and everything was perfect. This is India... "manage ho gaya" Now forget everything and be proud to be an Indian till the euphoria lasts and then let the Indian cricket team lose a match and we are back to square one!
So what am I complaining about? And why am I complaining? Some people close to me are positively upset that I keep looking at the negative stuff instead of the positive stuff. They are upset that I keep harping about what went wrong "before" instead of being happy that our sports persons have done us proud. To them I am like the "media" who seem to focus only on the "bad things" and not on the good things. They tell me: live for today, yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come!
My problem is that I can't forget the past. One shouldn't! In fact, it's history that helps us to improve the present and secure the future. To forget the past is to keep committing the same mistakes over and over again! To forgive may be divine... to forget is downright stupidity.
My other problem is that I can't live for today without worrying about tomorrow! We who live now have a responsibility towards those who will come after us. What kind of country (and world) are we going to leave behind for them? What lessons will they learn from us? We use up resources for our own survival and that's natural. But when we waste resources, we steal from those yet to come!
And it's true, that if we forget about it by living in the present, the future may never come! Ask anyone who lived for the moment. Their future is full of regrets, remorse and recrimination.
Now what does all this have to do with the CWG and my own apathy towards the games? Well, I just can't seem to forget what happened before the games and get lost in what's happening at the moment. Yes, we are winning medals, that's great. It's to be expected when you perform in front of a home crowd and familiar with the weather and environment. And also when you are competing in an arena of a few nations and most of them economically worse off than your own and hence can't provide training and equipment for their sports persons or a wider participation. As Indians we should know that you get to participate because of who you know and who likes you rather than on merit. Even to get noticed you need to be in the right place!
Ok, I'm not trying to take away from the glory of those who are among the medals. But most Indians lack the ability of taking a critical look at themselves. So let's be aware of how and why we are doing so well. I'm willing to grant that it's due to better training facilities and equipment. And this is precisely the bee in my bonnet. Would it not have been better to forego the hosting on the CWG this year and spent the money on building more stadiums, training more atheletes and providing better equipment?
So much money has been spent. But it has all been concentrated in just one city! I still feel like a Delhiwala even though I spend years away from it from time to time and I am proud of my city even when I'm away from it. But Delhi is not India! And hence, as an Indian I feel that perhaps instead of beautifying Delhi and concentrating more on improving sports facilities in that city, other cities could have been chosen to host the games. Couldn't the CWG games take place in Guwahati instead? Kohima, Imphal or Bhopal? And better still, if the CWG did not take place at all and the money was instead used to build stadiums in every district -- a more inclusive approach to national governance!
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