Melbourne: Delhi rocks. And it did splendidly on the Commonwealth stage on Sunday to welcome the Games to the Walled City in 2010.
After the next chapter of the Games were formally awarded to Delhi with the handing over of the Commonwealth flag to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, a welcome speech by Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi kicked off the Dilli Chalo bash.
The 11-minute extravaganza had the who's who of Bollywood and several sports maestros showcasing the best of India in a glittering and glamorous bash, which left the 80,000-strong crowd mesmerised.
India got all of 11 minutes to give a glimpse of its rich vibrant culture and heritage after and before it ceremonially received the games flag at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra gave the glamorous touch to a show conducted by India's most famous choreographer Shiamak Davar.
Eleven minutes is barely enough to convey what India is all about. But the effort was made. A short audio visual capturing the spirit of Incredible India was followed by Isha Sharwani showing, through dance, the science of yoga and then came a dance ballet by Aishwarya Rai.
After that it was over to Delhi. A short film on the historic Indian capital captured the warmth and vibrance of its people who invited everyone to be there in 2010.
Then there was the 'Delhi Dhamaal', a song specially created by wellknown lyricist Javed Akhtar, which was sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Gayatri. This was followed by a lively Bhangra by Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee.
Shera, the mascot of the 2010 Games, was brought in accompanied by former Indian sports stars including Sunil Gavaskar, Milkha Singh, P T Usha, Anju Bobby George, Prakash Padukone, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and film actors Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta.
Performing live along with Shera were percussion maestros Taufiq Qureshi and Shivamani. The grand finale was of course the dance number choreographed by Davar and the 2010 theme song written by Gulzar and sung by Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan among others.
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Earlier, in a ceremony splashed with boisterous celebrations, breathtaking fireworks and splendid Australian music, Melbourne gave an emotional sendoff to the athletes from 71 countries, who made the 18th Commonwealth Games an overwhelming success at the MCG on Sunday night.
Ten days of intense competition, bitter rivalry, achievement and disappointment were put behind as the victor and the vanquished joined in the fun to make it a night to remember.
However, it was India that held centrestage as New Delhi invited the world to be there in 2010.
Adding more glitz was the David Dixon award for the most outstanding athlete of the Games, which was presented to shooter Samaresh Jung by Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) President Michael Fennell.
Chairman of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation Ronald Walker in his speech praised the athletes and volunteers for making the games a great success. Premier of Victoria Steve Bracks then read the Commonwealth Games flag handover clause and Chairman Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Suresh Kalmadi responded.
"This duty I willingly undertake to do," he said. "Melbourne has done a brilliant job but we would do even better," he promised.
Present at the stage were city Mayor John So, Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and vice Chairman of Delhi Games Organising committee Randhir Singh.
The Games flag was then presented to Mayor So, who handed it to Brackes and he gave it to the Delhi Chief Minister, who in turn, handed it over to Mr Kalmadi who gave it back to Singh and delivered his acceptance speech.
(With agency inputs)
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