Games tune hits wrong note in India

Nitin Negi, a college student in Ghaziabad near Delhi, has a tune by Shakira, the Colombian singer, as his mobile phone ringtone.

The song “Waka Waka”, the anthem of the football World Cup in South Africa, was a big hit in India and was widely distributed by Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest mobile network.

“I don’t know much about the Commonwealth Games,” Mr Negi said. “But if you ask me about Fifa and football I can really tell you about something.”

With just over two weeks before the start of the Commonwealth Games in India’s capital, its own official song has proved less catchy. AR Rahman, the Indian composer known internationally for his work on the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, has been forced to redo the theme he wrote because it was not as energetic as Shakira’s World Cup tune.

A panel of government ministers, appointed by Manmohan Singh, prime minister, to try to bring awry preparations for the games back on track, have approved a new version. An accompanying video, featuring the nation’s sporting heroes performing to the soundtrack, is expected to be released in coming days.

The official stamp of approval was only given after “Oh yaaro, yeh India bula liya” (Friends, we have called people to India) was tightened to give it more punch, and has had next to no airing on the country’s radio and television stations.

As athletes from 71 countries start to arrive in Delhi next week, the theme tune is not alone in having a hasty overhaul. A scurry of activity is under way to complete stadiums, improve the city’s street architecture and test ambitious traffic control systems. The latter entails the dedication of lanes on the capital’s road to the exclusive use of games registered users.

Officials such as Mike Fennell, the head of the Commonwealth Games Federation, have repeatedly warned that time was Delhi’s enemy in its preparations. Alongside a nail-biting finish, preparations have also been dogged by allegations of corruption, mismanagement and poor leadership leaving despairing senior Indian officials doubting the wisdom of the world’s largest democracy holding large sporting events.

In the final rush, television advertisements are exhorting citizen volunteers to step forward to help in initiatives such as a last ditch “Clean Delhi” drive. Organisers have even turned to the vuvuzela, a horn popularised at the World Cup, as part of the official merchandise to drum up African-like enthusiasm.

Delhi residents are braced for disruption. Some are preparing to leave the city for the duration of the event. Schools, colleges and markets will close.

In the absence of a stirring musical anthem, MS Gill, the sports minister, is sounding a little more shrill than either Shakira or Mr Rahman as he does his best to drown out the sceptics. On Friday, he described the city as on a “war footing” to prevent the spread of an outbreak of mosquito-borne Dengue fever and assured that 100,000 security personnel would guarantee “foolproof” protection from terror attack.