The Big, Bold & Beautiful Commonwealth Extravaganza

Against the backdrop of an early October sun set, the spanking new Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium turned into a golden hue as the Rs 44 crore aerostat lifted into the skies and a bevy of puppets danced and over 800 drummers heralded the event.

A spectacular laser fireworks show lit up the evening sky and India took a giant leap, 28 years after it hosted the Asian Games.

In a neat diplomatic compromise, Prince Charles, representing Queen Elizabeth, the head of the Commonwealth, and President Pratibha Patil did the honours at the inaugural ceremony, amid thunderous cheers from the capacity 60,000 crowd.

"I have much pleasure in declaring the 19th Commonwealth Games open", the Prince said reading out a message from the British monarch.

This was followed by the address of President Patil, who concluded by saying " the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi are now open. Let the Games begin", signalling the formal commencement of the sporting extravaganza.
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, his cabinet colleagues, former President APJ Abdul Kalam, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Maldives President Mohammed Nashid, Prince of Monaco Albert II, Commonwealth Games Federation President Mike Fennell, Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi and a host of dignitaries were present at the ceremony.

It was a mix of both cheers and jeers for Kalmadi when he made his speech while references to Dikshit were received by loud cheers in the audience. commonwealth, commonwealth, commonwealth,

After brief speeches by Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell and Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, the Queen's Baton, which traversed through all the 71 Commonwealth nations made a grand entry with Bindra being given the honour.commonwealth, commonwealth, commonwealth, commonwealth,

Badminton star Saina Nehwal, Beijing Olympic Games bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh and wrestler Sushil Kumar were the others who carried the baton.

It was followed by the arrival of the Games flags of all the participating countries and the oath-taking ceremony by the Indian captain Bindra.

There was also a section dedicated to the great tradition of learning which unfolded under the Knowledge Tree - a sacred space of Learning - presenting the Indian Classical dance and music that have been passed on through the Guru shishya Parampara.

The production comprised six classical dances of India, including Odissi from Orissa, Bharatnatyam from Tamil Nadu, Kathak from North India, Manipuri from Manipur, Mohiniattam from Kerala and Kuchipudi from Andhra Pradesh. commonwealth, commonwealth, commonwealth, commonwealth,

Each classical dance represented a season -- Odissi (Spring), Bharatnatyam (Summer), Kathak (Monsoon), Manipuri (Autumn), Mohiniattam (Fall), Kuchipudi (Winter).

Through dance, music and projections on the aerostat of tree leaves, the production captured the emotions as experienced through changing seasons.

India's Yogic way of life was also on display with a presentation of the practice of YOGA - the ultimate union of the body, mind and soul.

All along the ceremony, the moving lights on the helium balloon continued to change their hues, projecting life size revolving images of the action on the ground.

The past few weeks of negative publicity that had dogged the nearly Rs 70,000 crore mega-event was quickly forgotten as the glittering opening ceremony, which encapsulated a fascinating mix of culture and modernity, kept the spectators enthralled for more than two hours.

The ceremony, which set the stage for 12 days of intense competition will see over 7000 athletes from 71 countries vying for honours.

The aerostat, a giant helium balloon was dramatically lifted to its full height amid the sounds of Nagada drums.

A spectacular display of drummers from various parts of India then took centrestage and Keshav, a child prodigy from Auroville, Puducherry, was the cynosure of all eyes. commonwealth, commonwealth, commonwealth,

The musical production of Swagatam, a rendition of a blend of Hindustani and Carnatic that finally climaxed into a Quawalli, was performed by Hariharan.
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1050 school children performed a choreography of the Namaste sign, which presented the 23 officially recognised languages of India through projections on the aerostat.
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The athletes parade began in which 71 women, dressed in sarees that not only represents different designs form the various Indian corners but also myriad patterns, colours and styles, carried their country's placards.

The 619-member strong Indian contingent, which had Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra as the flag-bearer, drew the loudest cheers as it walked into the jam-packed stadium in the presence of a host of dignitaries, International Olympic Committee and CGF officials.

The Pakistani contingent drew a heavy round of applause from the crowd, notwithstanding the irritants in the bilateral ties.

816 performers together performed a choreography that formed the shape of a sun doing the Suryanmaskar - a series of Yoga postures done in salutation to the sun. Performers on the center stage also displayed some of the most complicated asanas.

The performers then dramatically changed the choreography and began to spiral, representing the kundalini - the coiled energy, an instinctive force that lies at the base of the spine.commonwealth,

Then there was the Great Indian Journey, where a train made a grand arrival as the Cheraw dancers from Mizoram did the Bamboo dance to give the Rhythm for the train.

There was also a segment on Mahatma Gandhi, where the Father of nation was paid rich tribute through a simplistic, humanistic form, depicted through sand animation based on the historic moment of the Dandi March with Mahatma's favourite hymn - Vaishnavo Janato played at the background.

Folk dancers from various corners of the country also came together to rejoice and dance in celebration of the message of the Mahatma, showcasing the ultimate richness in India's folk culture.

The opening ceremony finally culminated with the rendition of Oscar winning music composer AR Rahman's CWG 2010 Anthem -- Jeeyo, Utho, Badho, Jeeto (Live, Rise, Move, Win) -- to inspire all the athletes to give them the push to victory.

In his address Kalmadi, widely criticised for the controversies that surrounded the delayed preparations to the Games, said "India is ready to host a great Commonwealth Games."
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"Despite the bad publicity, all the Commonwealth nations stood by India as Delhi becomes the largest ever in the history of the Commonwealth Games," he said.

"We are prepared to deliver a great Games," he concluded. In his brief address, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "Welcome to India. Welcome to the Games. Millions are waiting eagerly to watch the Games unfold".

The formalities, with the march past forming the major chunk, were followed by a 40-minute cultural display in which classical Indian dances, a fine yoga display and a Bollywood-style show.
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The Indian railway train was pulled by the age-old steam engine to the strains of the Rahman-hit 'Chayya Chayya' from the film 'Dil Se'.

A giant figure of Lord Buddha was created and rose up from the centre stage to rise up to the canopy.

Instrumental rendering of Mahatma Gandhi's favourite song 'Vaishnavo Janato' was done with a figure of the Father of the nation also created through technology in the middle of the stage.

The stadium reverberated with Rahman's Games theme song "Yaaro, India Bula Liya" and his famous "Jai Ho" number from his Oscar-winning " Slumdog Millionaire" album, in the midst of a spectacular fireworks display, before the curtains came down on the spectacular ceremony.commonwealth, commonwealth,

For the first time in Games history the athletes who took part in the march past were later seated on the periphery to watch the remaining part of the pageant.

Keeping the focus...

Why do some people fail while others succeed? Why students from a same class may find themselves at complete opposite ends years after they have left the school? Why businesses fail to pick up or go through a dry run after a successful period?

Because the focus is lost.



Focus is the key to suceed. Masters are good only in one thing because they foucs hard on it. Sometimes we meet people who like to do everything and that is why they are good at nothing. Businesses/freelancers like to be busy and that's why they pick up everything that comes across their path, without giving it a thought whether the opportunity is in sync with their core philosphy or not and they fail not because they didn't have opportunities but because they had too many of them.

So, what's the solution?

Build your work around selective things and say "no"to the rest. Ditto for the personal life. Pick 4 values and stict to them. At work, build your team around 4 key result areas and say no to rest. If you try to do everything all the time, you wouldn't stand anywhere.

So, the thought of the day is - Stay Focused. If you want to succeed, it is the only way to go.

Rules Of Being A Human

Something I read yesterday and really linked it, so posting it here




1.     You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.


2.     You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."


3.     There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."


4.     Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.


5.     Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.


6.     "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."


7.     Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.


8.     What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.


9.     Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.


10.     You will forget all this.

Never let anyone turn you around

Life is full of surprises. At one moment you could have everything and at other - nothing. Having worked as a freelancer for years, I have learned a lesson - If you want to live happily, never let anyone turn you around". 

When you take a step towards new heights, you'll meet people willing to pull you down - simply for the fun of watching you scramble. In the world we live in, only the true leaders can see situations as a challenge. Only one belief keeps them running - Life has a very fair accounting system. Caring for others is always going to pay. The difficult times are the exact times to be generous. Be generous with your time, money, feelings, emotions, care, car, home, people - everything! Don't lock what you don't use behind the cupboards. Give away your gifts. Be philanthropic with your attention.  When the whole world is shrinking its vision, its the time for some to play it forward. Begin the reinvestment in simple acts of kindness and see your efforts getting logged into the social accounting system.

Falling in line doesn't mean giving up personal convictions. Design your own terms. Watch your WATCH - Wishes, A - actions, T - time, C - Character, H - Habits

The A, B, C & D of life

Image: www.tigerbreath.com  

When hardship hits, our instinctive reaction is “what will happen to me? My home? My family? My work?”

It has become natural to start pulling in. Some people, you must have noticed, immediately get into protective mode. They try to pull in and preserve their domains. It has become human nature today.
Is this living the life as it comes? How about not acting on fears and narrowing our vision but standing for what we believe is right and getting rid of our own limitations? The simplest way to do it is by learning the basics again. So, let’s begin

A: is for accuracy. We must try and deliver everything with unmatched accuracy not only when we are working professionally but at home, with people as well. Remember, if no one’s ever going to see, it doesn’t make leaving the table messy after you’ve had food is alright. No – it isn’t. Just imagine – if someone would pay you to do it, would you then also leave it like that? No, isn’t it? Yes! I know money is a great driving force but is it ethical to be lazy?


A is also for alertness. The more alert a person would get, the better will be accuracy and of course – the end product. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you are doing it with accuracy and alertness, you are bound to make it perfect.

Maintaining Balance Between Head & Heart

Its a delicate balance that most of us fail to maintain.


In our interactions with others, we sometimes only use the head, i.e., my logic.  Yes, that does bring us to a logical level and enables us to understand the facts very clearly.  But if you keep myself limited only to the facts, you tend to forget to use your heart.  Then we are not available to the other person and fail to understand them.


So, what's the solution?

In order to be successful in all our interactions with others,  have the right balance between your head and my heart. See beyond the facts, say and try to listen and understand the other person too.  When you do this you will not hurt people with your attitude but will be able to maintain harmonious relationships.

The Change Management of Life

How often you feel angry on others? If something unpleasant happens, are you able to control your mind at the right time or do you keep on thinking about it the whole day?


Generally, our thoughts drive us. It is our perception about other people; situations etc. that make us react. We are so used to keeping thoughts running on our mind that we don’t even realise how much wasteful things is happening inside us. Have you ever noticed how easily we get affected by outside scenario? When we meet an irritating person, we get irritated too.

Have you ever noticed why?

Because we have become takers of negativity, ego, anger, frustration and waste. This needs to be changed. The thinking has to become positive. With the power of positivity, we refuse to give up. Remember, though situations don’t last but tough people do.

Let us try to be a better person. It will change everything around you, because change always begins from inside. If I’ll change, the WORLD will change with me.