INTRODUCING: The Mango (cliched) Man

even when 6081 athletes vying for 260 gold medals in 17 disciplines from 71 commonwealth nations are participating here in delhi, our very own mango cliched man wonders: “kirkat to hum sune thhe. ee kaamunwelth kaa hai?”let me clarify. to begin with, it’s not a joke. and if it in any way put a lol or an rofl in your mind, i’m sorry to inform you but you may be suffering from a disease called ‘poor sense of humour’ or another one called ‘indifference’. the symptoms of both the ailments are pretty much similar; but the consequences of latter, well… fatal.

“…when 46% of India’s children and 55% of women are malnourished, does spending billions of dollars on a 12-day sports event build national pride or is it a matter of national shame?”

—Miloon Kothari, leading Indian expert on socio-economic development

let me first present my point of view: i am completely in favour of the commonwealth games. it may be because i love sports, and i love the whole concept of our nation coming out in the world. but if i think rationally as an indian, were the games worth it?

business today estimated that the games cost $6.8 bn (which also includes non-sports-related infrastructure development in the city). and yes, it’s big-big money. so what do we get in return?

one, the employment opportunity: around 2.5 million jobs (and maybe more, indirectly) were created as a result of the 12-day extravaganza; two, delhi is transformed: if you are a delhiite, you know what i’m talking about; three, the games are expected to have an overall economic impact of $4940 million over the next four years (according to our commerce minister, mr. anand sharma). plus, there is this whole possibility that the games would improve standards of living across sections, boost sporting activities, and increase international recognition and tourism in our country; well, hopefully.

and let’s hope, we are able to maintain what we have created.

but in the end, my dear friend mango man still asks: “hume kaa miloo?”

well, only time can answer you my friend. because even i have lost faith in words.

facts courtesy: wikipedia