The facts of come-on-wealth games

I had a tryst with Jonty Rhodes in Delhi during my visit last week visit. No, I am not that big a fan of cricket to remember Rhodes, the legendary fielder of South Africa, even after his retirement a decade ago. Sorry, perhaps I mis-spelt. It was jaunty roads of Delhi giving me a memorable feeling of African Safari around concrete jungle. And all credit goes to our come-on-wealth games (sorry again, commonwealth games) for providing the pleasure of so many rides in one go. The potholes around Cannot Place (Cannaught Place-CP) was deep enough to rear sea animals. To all this, spices were added by the incessant rains, which certified that we are heading towards socialist state, our constitutional desire. Everyone who walked on roads had mud-drained pants, dissolving the class discrimination. No one dared to pick their eyes off the road to check if there was anything to be seen besides pants. Reflexively, my hands lifted to salute our most intelligent political heads for being so visionary to achieve the socialist goal, easily.

Interestingly, a day before a news channel thought of giving a boost to their TRP by continuously showing three parallel images of tribals crossing rivers/streams on rope bridge, while the central government had spent one lakh crore rupees for the game. I had a hearty laugh (hopefully it cleared all the blockades in my arteries) when one minister justified the expenditure by saying that many such lakhs of crores have already been given to this tribals and many more are coming. The discernible gist of the discussion to me (though I always doubt my intelligence) was that the minister was hinting that tribal welfare work was another come-on-wealth games for local, State agencies. So, we must not cry foul for happenings in Delhi. It is systemic and nothing new.

Mr Kalmadi, facing the heat of criticism showed a bold face by challenging his adversaries to institute judicial enquiry to ascertain his misdemeanors. For one moment I got puzzled, surprised on how could he dare to axe his own feet. Was not that suicidal? Then again, a man of wisdom came to my rescue enlisting all the past judicial enquiry promises made, and in case of institution the big cold storage warehouses were the reports are treasured. Hence, Mr Kalmadi was playing a safe bet.

Moaning on the prospects of success of the games, I cited that dengue had hit the citizens hard and added to the woes of Delhi administration. Someone called from the back, ‘equitable distribution of wealth is again a constitutional directive’. How municipality and health services could have compromised on having peanut share to the mammoth expenditure incurred for game preparation. Fighting dengue is money churning activity. We have to breed, annihilate and rebreed mosquitoes to fight dengue, and that is what is being done. Do I smell some conspiracy behind dengue, a foreign hand perhaps.

Our country’s philosophy says ‘Live and let live’. So, please don’t crib on the issue from so far, as you won’t get a piece of pie. Pray that the foreigners come, titillate their taste buds with that attractive menu of more than 30 dishes in one spread, in every meal, and return singing in chorus “Sare jahan se acha Hindustan tumhara”. Come on this wealthy game and help ‘India shine’.