Goodbye Delhi- Closing Ceremony of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games

On Oct 14 Delhi and India bid goodbye to the Commonwealth Games in a spectacular closing ceremony. I have posted videos which speak more than words. Parts of the show I enjoyed the most. I couldn 't find a video of the fire dancers. If I find it I will share it.

Here are the countries on the top of the medals tally

AUSRALIA
74 Gold
55 Silver
48 Bronze
177 Total
INDIA
38 Gold
27 Silver
36 Bronze
101 Total
ENGLAND
37 Gold
59 Silver
46 Bronze
142 Total
CANADA
26 Gold
17 Silver
32 Bronze
75 Total
RSA
12 Gold
11 Silver
10 Bronze
33 Total
More

The next CWG will be held in Glasglow, Scotlamd in 2014
Confluence of 13 forms of traditional Indian martial arts


Marching Bands from the Armed Forces and an Ode to the Motherland
by children


DazzlingLazer Show


Music

The Village

Games Media Center

Everybody is going great guns at the games.

Here is the medals tally on Day 10.. Three more days to go.
AUSTRALIA
64 Gold
40 Silver
39 Bronze
143 Total
INDIA
30 Gold
23 Silver
28 Bronze
81 Total
ENGLAND
27 Gold
49 Silver
35 Bronze
111 Total
CANADA
23 Gold
15 Silver
28 Bronze
66 Total
SOUTH AFRICA
12 Gold
11 Silver
9 Bronze
32 Total
More

Here are some photos of the Games Village and sports arenas.

Free medical treatment and services are available for sports persons and delegates and they are taking advantage of it.

A Nigerian Commonwealth Games delegate who was suffering from arthritis for years had a very expensive knee replacement surgery at a private hospital within a week of her landing in Delhi. The cost for the Rs 300,000 surgery for this person was zero. The tax payers paid for it. In a country where there is no free medical treatment for sports persons or the poorest of the poor.

Number of visitors in the Village Polyclinic last week and what they came for-

500- Non emergency reasons

224- Dental procedures

140- Eye check up

162- Ultrasound

300- Cardiac check ups

1000- Massage and physiotherapy

Medical practitioners say that many of these ailments don 't develop overnight obviously they had been deferred till now but as medical care providers they have to serve everyone.

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Technology is shrinking our world so much. Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day in Canada and I sang some Thanksgiving songs with 2 Canadian friends on Skype. It was such a special experience.

It felt as if we were in the same room. The thousands of miles which separated us melted away the moment we switched on the camera and microphone. We sang "How Great Thou Art" accompanied with a guitar and harmonica. It was the first time I "met" them through mutual friends, it was a great introduction.

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These days we are having extra power cuts . It is the Hindu festival season and various festivities and fairs are taking place. Hundreds of temples are lit up with lights and decorations. They have to cut domestic power to supply electricity to worship venues.

Tomorrow evening a large fair and religious procession called Ramdal or Dushera procession will take place in my area.

I am planning to take some photos to blog.

The season is changing and its cooler now. What a great relief.

Please tell me if in North America and elsewhere people have changed the clock one hour back.

Have a pleasant Tuesday.

Commonwealth Curry

Getting into th e international spirit I baked some whole wheat /oatmeal muffins. I always improvise if all th e ingredients are not available and I did not use any measurement, just tipped in everything , and they turned out very good.

This is my Ratatouille. I got the recipe from BBC Food. Substituted and improvised and the result was delicious.

(Photo of the Games Village)

India is doing very well on the medals tally.

Gold 10

Silver 7

Bronze 2

The day is not over, still a lot more to come.

But let me tell you what the guests are enjoying at the dinner table.

Athletes and delegates from all over the world will descend on the Capital for the Commonwealth Games, but they will be made to feel at home going by the variety of cuisine available at the Games Village.
The dining room at the Games Village.Master chefs from India and overseas will provide delicacies for the residents and there is something to suit every palate.
The dining area is divided into various sections on geographical lines. Hence, one has a 'Western Flavour,' 'Asian Flavour', 'Indian Flavour', 'Vegetarian Flavour', 'African Flavour' etc.
Also, there is a separate section for salads, Italian pastas and pizzas, fruits and snacks as well as liquid refreshments.
"We have divided the cuisine on geographical basis into six sections-Caribbean, American, Asian, Indian, continental and Oceania," Ajay Grover, consultant for catering in the Organising Committee said.
So, one encounters typical north Indian delicacies such as chhole-bhathure alongside chowmein. A little distance away, one finds African grilled fish and fried chicken next to Italian pasta.
"We have been working on this for the past one year," Grover said, adding that the menu does not include beef.
"It is one of the largest dining areas in the world and we can serve nearly 2,300 people at one go. The facility is open 24 hours a day and we can serve up to 40,000 people in a day." There are as many as 2,500 personnel operating the kitchen and the dining area at the Village, with 250 of them being chefs.
"About 14-15 of the staff is from overseas with about seven or eight foreign chefs," Grover said.
The catering contract was awarded to Australian firm Delaware North Company, which also worked at the 2006 Melbourne Games.
With the nutrition and safety aspect of food being vital, samples are regularly tested in laboratories and there are nutritionists at hand to ensure that the athletes take in the right kind of food.
The raw material for the food also comes from all over the world.
"Certain fruits which are not available in India at this time of the year will be brought from as far as Africa. Lamb will be sourced from New Zealand," Walter, a supervisor, said.
"A total of 120 dishes will be served in a day within a six-day cycle," he said.
The number of people served will be steadily increased.
"We started with food for 50 and by the time the athletes start arriving, we will be up to our optimum capacity," Rick Aylett, director at Delaware, said

( courtesy India Today)

Here is another interesting piece from the I Food website

Let’s take a look at the essence of the different cuisines at Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010:
American Cuisine: Derived from USA, American Cuisine is known for numerous ingredients and cooking styles. Some of the popular dishes and recipes in American Cuisine are Apple Pies, Chocolate Brownies, Grilled Cajun Fish, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Spicy Fried Chicken, Texan Cornbread Pie and Waldorf Salads.

Asian Cuisine: The food of Asian countries is popularly known for the various culinary traditions, techniques and flavors that are found throughout the different region. Authentic dishes like Japanese Shabu Shabu, Spicy Indian Curry, Chinese Dim Sum, Korean Bibimbap, and Singapore Chili Crab represent the diversity in Asian culture.

African Cuisine: African cuisine is widely appreciated for combining the traditional vegetables, fruits and exotic seafood that varies with different cultures within the country. A few of the popular African dishes are chicken soup, Gbegiri&Ewedu, Ofada, Veggie Delight and Buns.

Oceanian Cuisine: Oceanian Cuisine is basically a blend of dishes from various other cuisines from all across the world. Some of the cuisines included in Oceanian Cuisine are Australian Cuisine, Tongan cuisine, Chamorro cuisine, and Cuisine of the Mariana Islands.

Indian Cuisine: A delicious combination of spices, herbs and other traditional Indian ingredients, Indian cuisine is widely appreciated all across the world for its taste and flavor. Some of the popular Indian dishes at CWG 2010 are hot chicken curry, butter chicken, vegetable biryani, gol gappas.

Continental Cuisine: Continental cuisine usually refers to cuisine from the European continental. It is basically the food dishes adopted from various countries like France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
With all these different cuisine at CWG 2010, you can use as many superlatives as you want to describe the food at CWG. So, it is quite obvious that the variety of cuisines will be ruling the roost at Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010.

A Shera sandwich made by a blogger. She used brown bread, olives, carrots, peppers and cheese and cucumber.

Commonwealth Games 2010- Opening Ceremony- For the Honor and Glory of Sports

Enjoy the spectacular opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on Oct 3rd.

(L-R) Prince Charles and Camilla, President Patil with her husband, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his wife.

The Indian delegation led by Olympic gold medalist (shooting) Abhinav Bindra.

20,000 dancers moved gracefully center stage.

The Canadian contingent

Here is a news report from NDTV.

New Delhi:
The spectacular opening ceremony for the XIXth Commonwealth Games on Sunday put the spotlight back on to the Games. And for a change, the media that had largely been critical of Delhi's efforts in the build up to the Games, showered praise for the wonderful show.
The Guardian said, "Concerns of recent weeks forgotten as dazzling event launches games amid atmosphere of national pride and celebrations.

"The Telegraph, also published from London, described the event as, "The biggest sporting spectacle India has ever hosted kicked off in typically colourful fashion... And there we were thinking it might never happen.

"The Herald Sun that comes out from Melbourne went a step ahead comparing the opening ceremony to that of the Beijing Olympics stating, "Indian Games officials should feel proud of the opening ceremony, classy and showy but somehow warmer and less contrived than the Beijing experience." (The helium filled aerostat ballon suspended above the stadium)
The Australian, published from New South Wales, wrote, "After weeks dominated by the old India of corruption, poverty and chaos the new "Incredible India" of diversity and cultural pride showed its face."The opening ceremony took place at the Jawahar Lal Nehru stadium that was dressed like a newly wed bride with Henna on her hands. And just so that the athletes don't miss out on all the action, the teams marched into the stadium right at the beginning of the programme, a first for the Commonwealth Games.The most beautiful moment of the night though was the huge roar for the Pakistani contingent. The 620-member strong Indian contingent led by Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra got a stand ovation from the crowd.While Prince Charles declared the Games open, President Pratibha Patil said, "The Games are now open. Let the Games begin."The cultural show took the audience on a journey of the country showcasing the diversity that is India featuring everyday life of the common man. In the end, all the negativity and criticism was forgotten as "Jiyo Utho Badho jeeto" becomes the mantra for the next 11days.

The Tree of Knowledge suspended from the balloon.

Dancers from Manipur (NE India)

Shera enjoying his moment

The South African brought their vuvuzelas along

Dancing with the performers

Strict security is in place

International friendships being chiseled.
Here are videos which you must watch of you want to see the rich diversity and culture of India.
The firs t one is the percussion performance with drummers from across the length and breadth of India. Right in the midst of them is a 7 year old child prodigy, Keshav who is displays such magnificence on the drums.


In this video is a yoga display and an explanation of what yoga is. Yoga are exercises to unveil or attain the hidden god or Brahma in you, according to Hindu philosophy. This is done by activating the 7 chakras which arouses the kundalini at the base of the spine which is believed to be in the form of a serpent or sarp. One does yoga to arouse the kundalini or serpent.
After the yoga you can see The Great Indian Train Journey, which is a pageant of everyday Indian life seen while travelling on an Indian train.

The photographs have been taken from The Indian Express and IBN7 websites