The mood about the Delhi Commonwealth Games is changing. The stories about missed deadlines, bad hygiene and shoddy renovation is growing paler. In the backdrop of a dazzling inaugural ceremony, Delhi is becoming optimistic.
On Tuesday noon, while we were walking in Connaught Place’s Inner Circle, we noticed that the months-old scaffolding had gone and the colonial-era pillars were sparkling white. Shop assistants were fixing plastic placards of Shera, the Games’ mascot, on their glass windows. The youngkhaki-clad women, a part of the first all-women battalion of the Nagaland Police, were stationed with rifles.In F Block, we met, Jayant Kaul, a CWG volunteer. As a liaison officer, he was in charge of Neville McCook, a delegate from Jamaica. He had brought the delegate’s wife to shop in Connaught Place. While she was busy in a showroom, Kaul was helping himself with a samosa. A final year hotel management student, he said, "I’m loving every moment of the Games."
We also met Fay Elliott, a Jamaican delegate and other fellow travellers from her part of the world. "I’m absolutely blown away by Delhi’s size," said Elliott. "Also, all the preconceived idea I had got about Delhi from the foreign press has been thrown out of the window. They are not true. I’m delighted to be in your city."
The CWG athletes are living a life of great luxury in the Games’ Village. From the lavish food stalls to the swanky international arena, things are gradually falling in place. If you thought the good life ends here, then you are mistaken. It just continues to get better. Apart from five-star facilities that are available at the Games’ Village, the athletes have an option of enjoying a relaxing spa session at the spa and salon set up at the Village.
A salon set up by Shahnaz Herbals is offering traditional Indian therapies like the Shirodhara and Panchkarma. The services, informs the salon staff, have been also formulated, keeping in mind the athletes’ strenuous schedules.
The CWG athletes are living a life of great luxury in the Games’ Village. From the lavish food stalls to the swanky international arena, things are gradually falling in place. If you thought the good life ends here, then you are mistaken. It just continues to get better. Apart from five-star facilities that are available at the Games’ Village, the athletes have an option of enjoying a relaxing spa session at the spa and salon set up at the Village.
A salon set up by Shahnaz Herbals is offering traditional Indian therapies like the Shirodhara and Panchkarma. The services, informs the salon staff, have been also formulated, keeping in mind the athletes’ strenuous schedules.
“Athletes, who do not have a game on a particular day, can be seen availing services such as, relaxing rose compress,” says the salon manager. Tim Isneale, from Isle of Man, who tried the salon services, said, “It has been an excellent experience.” Keren Faullener from Australia says, “It was fantastic to try the services. I would visit again.” The salon is seen as a star attraction for the women athletes, who are availing everything — from an eyebrow pluck to a waxing ritual — squeezed in between their tough schedules.