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BEATLES 50TH/BCS 70TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY SCM Beatles Choir Midnight Hour Band with David Chew & Robin Brown Rocking to a Beatles beat MC Steve Rimmer in full cry The next generation of Beatles fans Christine MacNeal with Rice'n'Beans Conductor Martin Hester shares a joke with his choir TBS Class 6 band
DON'T BELIEVE THE CYNICS. THE INDIANS LOVED THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES WILL HEAVEN I do enjoy the Indian sense of humour. Below my last post ‘Vajra’ pointed out that, while there was indeed a stray dog wandering around the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium during the track and field events, in England we have naked streakers instead. So what’s the big deal? Another, ‘edinburghstoic’, pointed out that “the Brits themselves are hardly exemplars of efficiency. It’s just as well there are no German posters [to this blog] here to put us in our place.” In the interests of fairness, then – after some of my more critical posts last week – I thought I would share one of the great successes of the Commonwealth Games: the overwhelming enthusiasm of the Indian supporters. In Delhi last week I saw India thrash Pakistan in the THUMBS UP FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT SIDHARTHA ROY & ATUL MATHUR The 12-day Commonwealth Games achieved what three decades of transport planning couldn't — Delhiites leaving their cars to endorse public transport. The chaos witnessed on Delhi's roads during the trial runs for the reserved Games lane projected a traffic apocalypse in store for motorists. This was enough to drive many car users to the Metro to avoid long traffic jams. The Games didn't see any traffic horror stories as Delhiites rediscovered public transport. From CEOs to college students, almost everyone traveled by the Metro or the sleek lowfloor buses of Delhi Transport Corporation when the Games were on. The Games managed to break the class barrier that makes many of us think that only those people use the public transport system who can't afford a car. The question is, can this become a way of life for Delhiites who even drive down to the neighbourhood grocery stores? "The reason I bought a car a few years ago was because I didn't want to travel in overcrowded buses or haggle with the autowallahs every day," said Tripti Sharma, who works at a private firm in Nehru Place. "I tried using the Metro during the Games to avoid the jams Indian hockey captain Rajpal Singh celebrates victory over Pakistan hockey, and the Indian women win the 4×400m relay gold. At both events, the crowd went bananas. (In the case of the relay, I reckon they contributed massively to the victory.) Let’s be clear, these Games were far from a total success. They showcased the best and the worst of India, and sadly they will be remembered most of all for the shoddy organisation Delhi Metro and just loved it. Even the new airconditioned, low floor buses are pretty swank and I don't mind traveling in them if their numbers increase," she said. The Games has also managed to change the image of public transport. When they think of public transport buses, the rickety and overcrowded Blueline buses are what come to Delhiites' mind. With the government pulling nearly 1,600 Bluelines off the roads and increasing the number of low-floor buses, the picture has changed. The sleek new Bus Q shelters too are a world away from the drab, leaking bus stops Delhi was so used to. "Delhiites deserve a reliable and comfortable public transport system," said Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely. "We had committed to phase out Blueline buses and have already phased out 1,000 Bluelines," he said. Indian women’s 4x4 relay gold medallists overseen by Suresh Kalmadi and others. But footage captured by me on a (very cheap) Flipcam, of India’s first goal against Pakistan in the hockey, proves that the rumours and stories of empty stadiums were not entirely true. [Will Heaven is an Assistant Comment Editor and the Deputy Editor of Telegraph Blogs. He writes about politics and religion and is @WillHeaven on Twitter.] Delhi: new low-floor bus Delhi autorickshaw The infamous autowallahs too behaved themselves during the Games. "We have received almost no complaints of overcharging or misbehaviour by autorickshaw drivers this month," said a senior Transport Department official. [Source: Hindustan Times] [Could the same happen in <strong>Rio</strong> for the World Cup and the Olympics? And could we also have autorickshaws? – Ed.] Commonwealth 9
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4corners - Rio Societies

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