In high spirits

Queen's Baton and Commonwealth Express received an overwhelming response

P.S. Chauhan

After the Peshwaees and the processions for the royal baths taken out by the sant community during recently concluded Kumbh, it was for the first time in the holy city that people lined up on both sides of the roads in the city with excitement in their hearts and curiosity in their eyes. The occasion was the holding of the Queen's Baton Relay, the curtain raiser and one of the most glorious traditions of the Commonwealth Games, in the city. As the baton reached Har-Ki-Pauri at 5.20 a.m. on July 7th and the members of the organising committee handed it over to the state minister for urban development and local M.L.A., Madan Kaushik and the vice chancellor of the Gurukul Kangri University Haridwar, professor Swatantra Kumar.

It is indeed an unforgettable moment, when the East and the West met together. The baton, which started its detour from Buckingham Palace in London with the Queen Elizabeth's message, was accorded a traditional welcome in the city, an ancient seat of oriental wisdom. The priests applied Tilak on the baton and sprinkled the sacred Ganga water on it to shower Maa Ganga's blessings on the XIX Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held this time in Delhi in October.

Later baton was taken to special Ganga Aarti, performed with the recitation of the Vedic hymns, the blowing of the conches and the ringing of the bells by the priests, while the bands of the ITBP and the PAC played inspiring patriotic tunes. The leader of the organizing committee, Akhilendra Pratap Singh wrote in the register of the Ganga Sabha, "We are overwhelmed with pride after witnessing the spiritual ambience here. Let Maa Ganga bless us." From the Malviya Dweep, Har-Ki-Pauri, the baton was taken in a raft to the Birla Ghat from where the regional and the local players, who had made their mark in the national and international events, ran with the baton and passing through Shiv Murti Chowk, Devpura Tiraha and Ranipur Crossing reached the Hero Honda Showroom, near Bhagat Singh Chowk. From there the baton was taken in a special carriage to SIDCUL Industrial Area. As the baton passed through the prescribed route, the citizens, including a large number of school kids, who wore caps and carried tri-colours in their hands, welcomed it by showering petals of flowers and shouting "Chak De India." Everyone present on the occasion seemed impatient to touch the baton.

B.C. Mandal of the B.E.G., who is an international repute player was one of the runners in the baton's relay in the city he said that it is a proud moment for him to hold the baton. Bharat Bhushan, the secretary of the district Olympic association said that the holding of the baton's relay in Haridwar was no less than a dream.

"I hope that this time India will perform better in the Commonwealth Games which are being organized in the country for the first time, he said. After remaining in the city for about 3 hours, the baton was taken to Nainital, its next destination, in a helicopter.

Commonwealth Express

The excitement about the games extravaganza, generated by the Queen's baton in the region, was further aggravated by the Commonwealth Express which remained at Haridwar Railway Station for three days. Haridwar is one of the 49 railway stations, which have been selected in the country for creating mass awareness and generating momentum for the run-up to the event.

The five coaches of the green colour exhibition train provides comprehensive information about the games extravaganza, while the remaining six coaches showcase the impact of the information technology on various aspects of our life. While one coach depicts the history of the Commonwealth Games along with the details on the present game, including the Shera, Queen's Baton Relay and the green games concept, another coach has been designed to information about the venue of the events, including the massive changeover of Delhi in order to host this world-class event. Where another coach gives knowledge about various sports disciplines which have been included in this Commonwealth Games, besides displaying information about details of venue along with dates. One coach is dedicated to the saga of outstanding sports persons, along with the photographs of these icons, so as to make the masses aware of these heroes.

The train also showcases the success story of the country in the field of the I.T., beginning right from the hoary past when information was given via the smoke chimneys, to the present day high end technology of the electronic mails and short messaging services. Impact of the IT in the business and industry sector, in agriculture, our daily life, education and medical science, all has been vivified through various models and devices. "This is one of the best ways, most innovative and people friendly, to convey a message," says Dr. S.K. Batra, an associate professor. The response to the Commonwealth Express was overwhelming and Samrendra Goswami, said the station superintendent. Nearly 20000 persons visited the exhibition train. Ishank Dimri of Shivdale Public School, Jagjeetpur, who came to see the information on wheels, said, "The train depicts a picture of the developments taking place in India, particularly the revolution in the IT sector, besides providing information about the different facets of the Commonwealth Games.