Published>Wed, Apr 14 10 03:29 PM
The Lok Sabha may become the next battlefield as the Women's Reservation Bill comes up for approval sometime soon. But in this season of woman empowerment, one place where they are spearheading several important departments with full authority and without any hindrance is the 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CGOC).
At present, this committee comprises almost 40 per cent women, who come from diverse backgrounds, and are working at break-neck speed as D-day or the Opening day draws near. From ticketing to TV rights to hiring volunteers, taking care of the accommodation, advertising, branding and deciding on the image and look of the 19th edition of the Games, these women are bringing in their set of unique skills to all the 34 functional areas of the CGOC.
The chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi, says he has no reason to be tensed. ''I have delegated the hard work to very able women in my team. It's obviously a challenge to hold something this big and we will encounter a lot of problems on the way. But we'll also find solutions to all of them, thanks to my team-members,'' he says, with less than 200 days to go before the spectacular opening ceremony takes place on October 3.
Monica Jolly, director of ticketing, is busy finalising the last minute details on the website and also clearing the retail outlets in the city where the tickets will be sold.
''About 2.2 million tickets are to be issued. So I also have to manage the call-centre that will deal with people's queries. On a more micro-level, there's also work to be done on the seating plans. Just like in the movies, you can choose your seat-we are providing that facility to the spectator. He can buy the seat that he believes will give him the best view,'' she says.
While the clock ticks
Moti Irani, director of accommodation and travel grant, meanwhile, has been negotiating with hotels to zero in on a flagship brand as well as others for the Games. ''Hotel Ashok has been chosen as the flagship hotel and the spillover will go to Samrat Hotel. Hotel Janpath, Ramada Plaza and the DDA Flats in Vasant Kunj have been roped in for the media,'' she says.
Around 2,562 rooms have been booked in these hotels, along with an additional 2000 rooms at the DDA Flats, Vasant Kunj. Next comes the signing of MoUs with the hotels and preparing the website so that people can book rooms online depending on their specific needs. One very important area in the Games will be about selling TV rights so that the feed reaches all 71 countries participating in the Games.
Upasna Singhal, director of broadcast, on deputation from the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), is working on selling the TV rights to nine right holders, who in turn will beam the Games to the 71 participant countries. Purnima Pendse, deputy director general of ceremonies, has finished organising an event for the celebration of the 200 days to go into the Games.
''We had put up a 200 ft canvas at India Gate denoting the 200 days left. We invited various artistes, professional and amateurs, to splash their paint on it. The 100th day celebration when the baton arrives will be far bigger,'' she promises.
The job at hand for these women is more complicated than it seems. One wrong step or a miscalculation would mean the whole of the country, the foreign tourists -not to forget the media-will jump in to criticise this prestigious international event that will be a showcase of India's talent, hospitality and cultural diversity.
Manjushree S.Roy, deputy director general, volunteer programme and publicity, who is responsible for recruiting, training, uniforming and planning of the workforce explains, ''The committee has a handful of people executing specialised tasks for the 34 functional areas. But when it comes to the delivery of all the assigned tasks during the Games, it is this nucleus of dedicated and motivational volunteers who will skillfully shoulder the responsibility that they have been trained for.''
Certainly not an easy job at hand. Likewise, danseuses and Padma Shri winner Shovana Narayan, who is the director of ceremonies-though tight-lipped about the events-says she's making sure the city buzzes with cultural activity throughout the entire fortnight. Opening and closing ceremonies apart there will be various programmes to mark winners' achievements at the Games village-activities that inspire athletes who are geared up for their events. Even the medal ceremonies will be culturally rich and will leave the spectator spellbound.
''These athletes have given their best to their countries. And we'll make sure they get a taste of their own country's culture along with the richness and plurality that India can offer. We are combining traditional cultural programmes with popular youth culture to add that zing factor that keeps the young people entertained.''
The sad part is that several years of hard work will come to an end in a matter of 14 days. And for those who've been closely associated with the Games, the last one year, with the rush to meet deadlines at break-neck speed will be the most unforgettable one for its maddening, tensefilled moments.
But what will remain in the mind of the public is the image, the icons, the mascot and the pictographs that Delhi will get to see in a couple of months. Just like Appu, the elephant mascot, is still fondly-remembered by the generation that was young when the Asiad Games took place in 1982, Shera, the tiger, will be remembered in years to come by the generation that's going to witness the biggest sporting event held in their city.
Deciding on image & look
That apart, a huge responsibility is to create a particular image and look that will differentiate this particular Game from the ones to come. Sangeeta Welinkar, additional director general, image and look, says, ''One of the major source of inspiration are the jaalis that you see in the Mughal architecture in Delhi. These jaalis have been digitised for a modern look and the graphic layers add depth to the design. The colour palette, comprising purple, pink, green, red, blue and yellow represent the vibrancy of India.''
As in Athens where the wreath was the inspiration for the Olympic Games in 2004, and in Sydney 2008 the boomerang, the aboriginal hunting stick, the Delhi 2010 logo is inspired by the Ashoka Chakra, the national symbol of freedom, unity and power. The Chakra has 24 spokes, each representing an essential quality in a human being.
The upward curves or movement in the logo represents India???s rise as a superpower. That apart the figurines or pictographs are inspired by the ancient Sanjhi art-they were used to tell stories to people.
''I had gone to Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006 to observe the way they incorporated tradition with modern elements to get the look they created. Even as a co-ordinator for the Pune Youth Games, I've worked on the image-but this has been the biggest challenge of all. Wait for a couple of months to see how we paint the city with the colours and designs of the Commonwealth Games 2010.''
International Inputs
A huge area where Delhi is far behind most metros is in the way it behaves with its tourists. Despite being the capital, we still hear horror stories from foreigners about how the city's treated them-many don't even get to see the Dilliwala dil that the city boasts of. Within a few months, foreigners will swarm into the city.
The cultural mingling will go a long way to build relations and shed a few inhibitions about each other. And a few women from other countries have come quite early to be a part of the CGOC wherein they bring in their country's views and try and merge them with the local culture so that we all understand each other's language, customs, habits a little better. One of them is Lisa Lavigne, director para-sport, Commonwealth Games Committee.
Lavigne's job is to make sure that the buses to hotels, venues and various other places are accessible to disabled athletes before the 250 para-sport athletes arrive for the Games.
''It's only the third time in the history of an international event that we have a para-sport team that is completely integrated with the main team.'' That essentially implies that unlike the Olympic Games or even the Winter Olympics that has the para-athletes competing after 15 days of the main event, these athletes will be integrated with the main team, and their medals will also be counted with the tally of the able-bodied athletes from their country.
While it's great encouragement for these athletes once the Game's underway, what often poses a problem is preparing the groundwork in different countries-many of them have a culture quite like ours, in the sense that they aren't used to the idea of dealing with people with disabilities. Lavigne, an Australian with a background in the hospitality industry, had been involved with The Manchester Games 2010, held in February, and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006.
She brings in her experiences to improve facilities and change mindsets in this city so that the para-sport athletes are integrated as much with the city as all the others. There's also Zhang Xiuzhi from China-she is the associate director of the archery and shooting events. A major contributor to the Beijing Games, she brings in her set of experience to the Commonwealth Games.
''Archery isn't a discipline everyone is aware of or knows about a lot. My endeavour has been to understand how it's viewed in India and to work on areas that need improvement-besides knowledge of the game, that includes the training facilities in the stadium and Games village.'' Xiuzhi says she has learnt a lot from sports other than archery as well.
''There are various things one can learn from each other's culture. People in this country are friendly. Initially there was a bit of a language barrier, but now it's ok.'' Meanwhile, Lavigne has arranged for special buses that can carry wheelchairs, rooms with facilities for the paraplegic at the Games Village, not to mention space for wheel-chair bound spectators watching the Games.''We've already built 12 accessible rooms at the Games' flagship Ashok Hotel.''
How to sensitise Delhi
Lavigne recalls that when she came to Delhi there weren't any hotels which could facilitiate wheel-chair use. Even the one that had such facilities, Le Meridien, had its own set of problems largely owing to people not being exposed to dealing with disabled people. ''Once one of my teammembers, a paraplegic, was going for a buffet held at a hall, and the wheelchair could only be accessed from a backdoor, which was blocked.
So an executive of the hotel offered to get him whatever he wanted from the buffet. He immediately objected. He said he couldn't make up his mind since he didn't know what was there in the buffet-he needed to see the buffet before he decided what to eat'' It's dealing with problems and sensitive issues such as these on a daily basis that's keeping women in the CGOC on their toes.
The problems may be at times easy to solve, at others times insurmountable even for the best in the business, but these women aren't shying away from taking on any challenges head-on.
The Organising Committee of the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi comprises 40% women. Indian legislators, still arguing over 30% reservation for women in Parliament, should take a cue.
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