Nation ga-ga over games! From shame to fame. Just a few days back CWG was written off, OC discredited, India shamed. Today all TV channels, Newspapers are singing the glory of one of the sports greatst turnarounds. Yesterday I took my boss (CMD, NEDFi) to Rajghat to pay homage to Gandhiji on his birth anniversary, followed by a tour by roads of CWG venues. Delhi looks green, modern, shining. I felt so proud. It looks no less than Shanghai or Beijing minus the skyscrapers. Already people are talking about bidding for the Olympics.
Roads ready. 7000 atheletes arrived. Games village is now a 5 star retreat, maintained by 5 star hotels of Delhi. The collapsed foot bridge reconstrudted by Indian Army Engineers in 6 days flat. 200,000 security personnel keeping eye on for spoilsport. Last night whole of Delhi was lit up, stadia, monuments, squares....New Metro line opened today. For those familiar with Delhi, line connects Central Secretariat via Khan Market, CGO, Jangpura, Lajpat Nagar, Mulchand, Nehru Place, Govindpuri, Kalkaji, Okhla, Jasola, Sarita Vihar. A new link road connecting UP via Ghaziabad from Kashmiri Gate opened today (Rs 4000 cr investment). CWG volunteers can be seen all around. I spoke to one volunteer about the 12000 nos of missing volunteers, he said most of them reappeared after the report in the media. For this evening's opening Prince of Wales has arrived. 4000 years of India's history and cultural heritage will eb on display in the 3 hr long extravaganza. I'll be there to witness! -mkd On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 9:22 PM, Chan Mahanta <cmaha...@gmail.com> wrote: > > India also said we'll provide food and accommodation just like you do > when we visit your home. So success of the party is measured in terms of how > >satisfied the guests are.If the guests rave about it, it is a success. If > India can make it happen with a modest amount of money, it is a bigger > success. > > > *** While it sounds like a reasonable proposition, let me as you this: > Would you, as a guest, badmouth the hosts if things didn't turn out too > well? > > Assuming your answer would be like mine, I would submit, the proposition > would not work too well as a yardstick for the success or lack thereof. > Failure actually would be something catastrophic, unlikely to happen. > > *** Therefore the only meaningful way to measure 'success' would be to > weigh it against the goals the organizers set for themselves, what they > proposed or promised or implied. > > > > > ^^^^ Yes it can be corrupt yet successful. However in this case > corruption led to incompetent contractors and delays in construction > resulting in the possibilty of a flop.Next few weeks will tell. > > > *** Pointing to corruption as the ONLY reason for the failures is really an > inability to accept the truths about India's ineptitudes and incompetencies. > I realize it is hard for the 'knowledge brigades' accept such realities, > particularly when they have a need to defend this national identity/pride > thang. It is so easy to point to corruption, something that is presumably a > problem caused and perpetuated by those who are outside the realm of the > educated, the competent and so forth. But the truth however is far from it. > > If I had to point to the real cause of the failures thus far, I would point > to: Planning and management incompetence, dearth of technical and vocational > skills, > and a serious attitudinal problem rooted in culture. Misgovernment that > creates and sustains corruption merely enhances the negative forces. > > > > >I was just speculating ahead of time. What's your speculation? > > *** I don't feel the need to predict or speculate :-). Time will tell. > > > > On Sep 27, 2010, at 2:05 PM, Dilip Deka wrote: > > > > > > > --- On Sun, 9/26/10, Chan Mahanta <cmaha...@gmail.com> wrote: > > On Sep 26, 2010, at 9:43 PM, Dilip Deka wrote: > > > >> I see two scenarios coming out of the CWG fiasco. > >> 1. India pulls it off at the last minute. CWG goes on and has a happy > ending > >> despite some minor mishaps. India claims a big success and brags about > it, "See, > >> we told you. It could be done. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE INDIA". > > > > > > **** First off: Define success. What will constitute a success, let alone > a BIG one? > > ^^^^ India is the host and they invited their friends from the CW to come > and play. India also said we'll provide food and accommodation just like you > do when we visit your home. So success of the party is measured in terms of > how satisfied the guests are.If the guests rave about it, it is a success. > If India can make it happen with a modest amount of money, it is a bigger > success. > > > >> 2. The CWG is a flop with major disasters and it starts major reform in > India in > >> terms of corruption. This happens because the middle class Indians get > insulted > >> and upset. It always takes a big event to make big changes. > > > > **** Similarly, WHAT would determine if it was a flop? > > > > ^^^^ It's a flop if the guests return home unhappy. In the analogy of a > party if that happens even after spending a huge sum of money, it is a > bigger flop. > > > > Only then one can delve into your question. Speaking of which, why do you > assume that > > in case of a FLOP, Indians would consider it an insult and demand reforms > to eradicate corruption. > > Is it CORRUPTION that is at the root of a possible flop? Why could it not > be corrupt yet successful? > > > > ^^^^ Yes it can be corrupt yet successful. However in this case > corruption led to incompetent contractors and delays in construction > resulting in the possibilty of a flop.Next few weeks will tell. > > > > I see a problem with the assumption that corruption is the cause for a > possible flop. Does > > competence not have a place in the equation? Nobody has accused China of > being free of corruption, but they proved how COMPETENT they are. In other > words competence and corruption are NOT mutually exclusive. Few would > complain IF competence could be demonstrated, would they? > > > > ^^^^ See response above. If competence was demonstrated despite > corruption, only a few would have been mad. Now everyone is mad.Let's wait > and see how the corrupt organizers (mind you some brits may be involved too) > pull it off. I was just speculating ahead of time. What's your speculation? > > > > > > > > > > > > > >> > >> What do you see? Alternate scenarios? > >> Dilip Deka > >> _______________________________________________ > >> assam mailing list > >> assam@assamnet.org > >> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > assam mailing list > > assam@assamnet.org > > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > > _______________________________________________ > > assam mailing list > > assam@assamnet.org > > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > > > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > assam@assamnet.org > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
