Painting the city red!

Several eminent artists and budding painters as well as children participated in large numbers at the Indian Gate lawns recently, in the green games event that was organised by the Organising Committee for the Commonwealth Games 2010.

The occasion was to commemorate the ‘200-days-to-go’ milestone for the Commonwealth Games 2010 to be hosted in Delhi. Gracing the occasion was Suresh Kalmadi, chairman, organising committee, Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi, along with his wife Meera.

Suresh said, “The ‘200 day-to-go’ milestone event marks our appreciation for the spirit of the games among the people of Delhi and the nation as a whole. The 200-foot canvas that is being painted by eminent artists of Delhi will be put on display at a suitable place during the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010. We are happy to see the overwhelming response of Delhiites, who came in huge numbers to attend the function. The celebrations have begun, and we will be organising many such events every fortnight at various places in and around Delhi till the actual games take off in the month of October this year.”

Talking about Pune being named as the new IPL team, Kalmadi added, “Pune is a sporting city and it’s big news for all the residents there, including me. The city has been associated with various sporting activities for years now, and I’m delighted to hear that Pune will be soon be a part of the IPL action. This will create an opportunity for all upcoming cricketers to showcase their talent.” Eminent painters like Satish Gujral and Jatin Das displayed their skills to inaugurate the milestone event. There was a 200 ft canvas set up at the lawns of India Gate, which was painted by the artists. Within an hour, we saw a rich kaleidoscope of themes of what the Commonwealth Games 2010 meant for each Delhiite.

Das said, “I have always been associated with social issues and cause-related projects. The Commonwealth Games 2010 is certainly going to be one of the prestigious landmarks for the sporting culture in our country. I feel proud as an Indian to be associated with such an activity.”

Shovana Narayan was spotted at the event chatting with her artist friend Naresh Kapuria. Also spotted at the event were Poornima Pendse, Sunaina Anand, Vikram Baidyanath, Sangita, Indu and others.
Jasleen, one of the participants said, “I wish the organisers had set up few more canvases here. It was too crowded; I hardly got the chance to paint on the huge canvas.” The function also included a kite flying festival where 200 kites of various shapes and sizes dotted the sky. Professional kite flyers flew the colourful kites in the sky that carried the slogan ‘200-days-to-go.’