By IANS,
New Delhi: At homes, in coffee shops, on the Metro and almost everywhere else – the brilliantly put together opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games dominated conversations Monday, a day after the event.
Five-year-old Niharika couldn’t stop raving about the colourful spectacle.
“The ceremony was so beautiful! I loved the colourful dresses of the hundreds of dancers and the fireworks and also the train which was beautifully decorated,” Niharika said, bubbling with excitement.
Riddhima Sharma, a home maker who couldn’t buy a ticket to the ceremony, sat in front of the TV Monday to catch highlights of the ceremony.
“I don’t think there will be anyone who would have watched the show and not have felt proud to be an Indian. We know that we have a rich cultural heritage, but the way they put it all together and choreographed the whole show, it was just overwhelming,” Sharma told IANS.
“I couldn’t buy a ticket for the opening ceremony, but I have got one for the closing ceremony. I also watched the highlights of the show this morning,” she added.
The opening ceremony of the Games held at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium had 65,000 spectators. A total of 6,700 athletes from 71 Commonwealth countries and territories are participating in the fortnight long sporting extravaganza that will end Oct 14.
Rishita Chatterjee, a student, sitting with her college friends at Barista, a popular coffee shop in Connaught Place said: “I think the opening ceremony was awesome. I especially liked the piece when a group of children got into a folded hands formation, denoting swagatam.”
Anubhav Jain, her friend who is a Games volunteer, added: “I am so glad that I volunteered for the Games and got to see the ceremony live! My favourite has got to be the piece, the great Indian journey, which had everything – from wedding bands to dabbawalas and Gandhi – showcasing India.”
Reading the reviews of the ceremony in the day’s newspapers, conversations mainly hovered around the ceremony among commuters on Delhi Metro too.
On Facebook, a popular social networking website, Ranu Baruah, a student in Assam, said: “Loved the opening ceremony… so spellbound that whole family watched the highlights again today!”.
Nayanika Jayaraman, an IT professional in Bangalore said: “I was at work when the opening ceremony was going on last evening, but a couple of us caught bits and pieces of the show on TV. But my wife has been going gaga over it, so I watched the highlights.”