I am sure a certain Mr Modi must be smiling. Well make that two Modi’s. The first one: holidaying abroad away from the Commonwealth and IPL circus here will be smiling as the whole country and the Queen wonder what made them award the CWG 2010 to India and the second one for getting a reprieve after “the party with a difference” did the same thing as other parties and struck a deal with the ruling Congress party.

The CWG games were supposed to be India’s entry into the big league. But forget the entry. India is set to make a humiliating exit. Just what the organisers were doing for the past seven years is something worth RTIing. What is different between the first Modi and Mr Kalmadi?

Mr Modi has the enviable track record of organising one of the most successful events in the history of Indian sports. That proved that India can do it and also gave us the false hope that CWG too would repeat the success. And Mr Kalmadi is doing just the opposite. I am sure both made huge money but while delivered and how, the other has failed. The second Modi and Mr Kalmadi have a lot in common. But another post another time.

The Babu’s who run the country have been assigned the games as well. Going by my experience of their running the country for the past 37-years, I firmly believe this is a bad choice. Now these Babu’s work according to a system. And with every action of anybody remotely associated with CWG being scrutinised with a magnifying lens it will be all the more difficult for these guys to put the house in order. Not that I think they can.

Was wondering if any of the Modis could have done some justice to the event with their experience?

Comparison with China is something India should learn to live with. While the communist country used the Olympics to develop the infrastructure in the country, the thinktanks here thought it was best to have the event again in Delhi. Infact the games were a good chance for India to develop sports facilities in other parts of the country. But what have we done? We are going to have more stadiums in Delhi as if the crumbling remains of 1984 Asian Games were not enough. Now we have Delhi which already had good roads, metro, airport getting more of all these and more.

Seven years. Long enough to develop anything. The Delhi airport was ready in record 37 months (that is still not ready for use is another story). The leaders who have Delhi fixation can learn a lesson or two from their Chinese counterparts.

Imagine the same fund being used to develop facilities in a city like Bhopal (that is where I come from, so naturally but it could be any tier-II city) it would have done the city and state whole lot of good and who knows would have cost a little less and would have been ready fast. But…

Like scores of other Indians I take very little from these games. Why? Because that is how sports is treated in the country. Just what Mr Kalmadi and Co did.