The CWG Marathon Race

It’s been 5 days since the XIX Commonwealth Games drew to a close and as I write this post, a massive post mortem into the event has started. Much like the aftermath of IPL’s 2010 edition, all the controversies surrounding the event are only going to get murkier in the times to come. On a personal note, with the Games coming to an end, I feel a huge void in my life, a lack of vigour and energy in contrast to the enthusiasm I felt every single morning from July 15, 2009 to October 14, 2010. But when I look back, I cannot help but be proud of my association with the biggest sporting spectacle to be held in India till date. This post is a memoir of my CWG journey which can be compared to a marathon race....

The starting line: Any preconceived notions that a Central Government funded autonomous body like the Organising Committee will be a akin to a North Block sarkaari daftar with Godrej steel almirahs and piles of unattended files were proven wrong as I walked into a swanky world class working environment in the heart of Delhi overlooking the Connaught Place skyline. It was a tremendous feel good factor. The feeling I got as I started my stint with CWG was one of self discovery, a feeling of self worth, independence and empowerment when my first pay cheque was handed over to me.

CWG was a platform for India to showcase its prowess to the world, our chance to change the Sporting culture of our country, a platform where new heroes would emerge, a spectacle where my city - Delhi would unite in spirit and in action to make this event a success. Factors like these led to strong emotional attachment with the project early on. Then they were supportive colleagues to guide me and empower me to be pro-active as we set out on our target to raise revenue through Sponsorships from the public and private sector. The start to this marathon race was like a quick sprint because of all the excitement and immense pride in this project.

In a country where Cricket is the be all and end all of investment in Sports, it was never going to be easy. While pitching to the corporates we used emotional and then rational reasons for associating with this event. Of course, business never runs on emotions but on pragmatism. While all were fascinated, only a few showed serious interest to Sponsor and eventually come onboard. Notwithstanding the high investment levels, by May 2010, we had surpassed the Sponsorship figures of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games which were previously the best Commonwealth Games in terms of revenue raised.

The wearing down: After the initial sprint, with increased responsibilities came testing times, people playing politics, incongruence between sincerity and reward. Behind all the glamour, OC is a quasi-bureaucratic set up. As a youngster, it can be frustrating to see that issues which can be resolved on phone/e-mail need to go through a long approval system. Much of this was un-warranted. To maintain a balance between my professional interests and duties (those that involved red tapism) towards my job was a tough call. Nevertheless, I always enjoyed confidence of my colleagues whom I will name later in this post. And then there was the entire episode of coming to the notice of one helluva boss who wanted to totally OWN me, taking away all my freedom. While a public platform is not the place to get into the nitty gritty of this episode, all I can say is that I felt de-motivated and cringed. I thought of leaving the organisation but somehow just kept going. Now when I look back, I realise that we humans have a natural aversion and dislike to change and like being restricted to our comfort zones. This person gave me some major responsibilities and entrusted me with the account management of the Lead Partner of the Commonwealth Games – Indian Railways which is paying a historical $20million as Sponsorship. So yeah..as the cliché goes – everything happens for a reason - holds true.

The collapse: There comes a time in a marathon when you don’t even have the strength to walk, every bone and muscle in your body pains and you feel like quitting and withdrawing from the race. Just 3 months to the start of the Games, reports of massive corruption and slackness in preparation broke out in the media. Some were rightfully punished while some innocent people were made scapegoats. Some of my colleagues who had become more like family to me were unceremoniously dispensed. Crisis had struck us big time and I had a ring side view to all the pandemonium and the ugliness. This was much above my age....and too much of an unwanted experience from my first job. What was meant to be India’s moment of glory, had turned into India’s shame. People had written us off. Even people close to me became highly cynical, pessimistic, de-motivating and doubted our ability to deliver. I would have quit, had it not been for this very cynicism and negativity which I took as a personal insult and was determined to prove each one of them wrong. Just one visit to You-Tube and watching and relating to SRK’s passionate “Sattar Minute” speech from 'Chak De India was all the boost I needed. For the next 2 months I kept away from the newspapers, the television and every single person who was negative... I shut off negativity from my life.

The Final Dash - With a huge and sudden vacuum of high professionalism and valued experience, my department was the worst hit. An inexperienced team now had to deliver on the promises made to the Sponsors who had committed huge monies to the Games. It was never going to be easy. Thanks to an effective and efficient leader taking charge and streamlining responsibilities – things were not as bad as anticipated. True character is exhibited in the direct of circumstances and it was amazing to see everyone over stretching themselves in an hour of crisis. After the grandest of all Opening Ceremonies, the subsequent 11 days of sporting action across 17 disciplines went off smoothly with an enthralling and emotional Closing Ceremony which drew curtains to the Games. Our sponsors weren’t complaining either..in many areas we over delivered! Due to the free commercial time we gave to Indian Railways, India’s oldest brand came out their first commercial ever. Seeing India win all three medals in Athletics Discuss competition with a crowd of 50,000 people at JLN stadium standing up to the national anthem are moments I will forever cherish.

The Victory - My last post about the Opening Ceremony highlighted the reasons for the greatness and follies of our nation. Today, the International Media is singing praises about the Games and using adjectives like “highly memorable”, "colorful" and “wonderful” and giving a big thumbs up to the Games. As the dissection of the Games start, we should not let it eclipse the achievement of our athletes and the hard work and determination of our young workforce and volunteers who performed against all odds. Future of our nation is indeed in great and safe hands!

Question marks – Will the sports stadias be properly utilised or will it be host for mega weddings? Will we learn professionalism from this event? Will the corrupt be punished? Will our government invest in sports infrastructure at the school level? Will we get greater involvement of corporate sector in Olympic sports? Will the Suhel Seths, Arnab Goswamis and Mani Shankar Aiyars of the world talk less and do more to realise what they believe in? Will we take a chance of hosting the Olympics? Will our media learn to become more responsible and less sensational? And personally from here on, where does the road lead me to? Commonwealth Games have left us with many questions. We can either let dust pile up on this event or use it as a shining example to make the future shine even brighter.

What a journey this has been! Some seniors always stood for optimism, hope and positivity in midst of the chaos. Then the entire Sponsorship gang I met on this journey – Rasesh , Raunak, Amar, Shital, Urvashi, Adity, Suhail , Surya, Rishav among others who have made this memorable. As I said in the beginning – the void will be a big one for us to fill!