TIT BITS … …HIGHLIGHTS OF THE QUEENS BATON ARRIVAL IN INDIA VIA WAGAH-INDO PAK BORDER

BY Rashmi Talwar

1. One CM ‘s spouse with the other CM’s spouse …It seemed an odd moment for the senior Badal (Parkash Singh Badal) to share a stage with Maharani Parneet Kaur the wife of former CM Capt Amarinder Singh . They had carefully avoided standing with each other all through the event but finally had to face each other side by side on the stage when the Queens’s Baton was passed from Badal to Parneet ….Lolz ..seemed like the Sn Badal was handing over the reins of the Government to the wife of his rival …!!!
2. A chain, made of handkerchiefs with peace messages formed by Pakistani children, accompanied Queen’s Baton Relay, which was joined by a similar chain from Indian children.
3. CM Parkash Singh Badal shared about his formative years in Lahore and claimed to know every nook corner and ‘gali’ ‘ especially the famous lassi of Lahore. He cited some personal instances of his college days, when he was pursuing graduation in arts at Foreman Christian College Lahore and talked about removing the Indo Pak Gates and walls between the two countries through sports.
4. Tu Maane ya na Maane … Dildara …Asan tenu Rab Maneya by Puran and Pyare Lal Wadali (Wadali Brothers ) brought an emotional bonding .
5. The Commonwealth Queen’s Baton carrying the message of “Peace through Sports” had landed a day earlier in Lahore at the ‘Allama Iqbal International Airport’ carried by A crew of QBR, including Ajay Chautala, Member of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Raj Qadian, Avny Lavasa, Louis Rosa and Asokan.
6. Sheila dixit said she felt honored to be the chief minister of Delhi at the time when India would host its first Commonwealth Games

“Ab jaan lutt jaye…. Yeh jahan chutt jave …saang pyar rahe, ……Mein rahun na rahun… Sajda ! Sajda ! tera Sajda !……” amidst this peppy emotional number from ‘My Name is Khan’ sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan- Live ! It was a scene of pure bonhomie between neighbors India and Pakistan, that drew not only the youngsters to dance impromptu but also the Indian Olympic Association Chief Suresh Kalmandi was seen swinging merrily in the mood, created by Pak artists at the Wagah Indo Pak Border on June 25, (Amritsar).

About half an hour before the Fusion Number by the music troupes of ‘Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’ (Pakistan) and ‘Wadali brothers’ (India) broke into a ‘Duma Dum Mast Kalandar…”–a common folk song of Punjab on either sides of the border, Kalmadi was handed over the ‘Queens Baton’ for the Commonwealth games by Punjab (Pakistan) Governor Sulman Taseer at exactly 9.30AM India Time (Pak is half an hour behind) ,who came alongside the Indian delegation crossing over the zero line into India with a team of 20 members.

The baton has specially been designed on an 18 karat gold leaf and the relay is the largest of all the previous editions, covering a distance of 1,70,000 km during its visit to 71 participating nations across the world. It started from Delhi to Buckingham Palace (England) and was formally launched by Queen Elizabeth to travel to all 71 Commonwealth Nations.

And the countdown of 100 days begins…for the baton that arrived today to reach back to Delhi–the venue of the XIX Commonwealth Games from October 3-14, after setting foot in 28 states and seven union territories of India. The Baton was passed on to the Indian sports greats Vijender Singh Olympics Bronze medalist Boxer and four-time world champion woman boxer M C Mary Kom.

Leading sports personalities and other dignitaries including Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit , Maharani Parneet Kaur MP and wife of former Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, MLAs and MPs were in attendance at the border outpost as the Baton was handed over to India.