An unbridgeable chasm separates excellence from mediocrity. The gap cannot be bridged because it begins with a mindset that does not recognize what excellence is: it knows no better than what is mediocre. Unfortunately, Indians are beset by the average and cannot see beyond it. Recent examples of this are the self-congratulation that has ensued since the Commonwealth Games began and the euphoria that has followed the closing ceremony. One reason is that the preparations for the Games engendered nothing but dire predictions of national shame. The apprehension was that of disaster, and the escape from that produced more than relief. What is undeniable is that the Commonwealth Games were not a disaster. Everything worked efficiently. There were no major glitches. The opening ceremony was marked by spontaneity and a sense of involvement. The valedictory session deserved all the applause it got. To add to this, Indian sportspersons, especially the women, performed very well. All these are reasons to be satisfied. But is satisfaction enough for those who aspire to excellence, for those who want India and Indians to be the best in all spheres? The answer is sadly not positive.

There was nothing in the Commonwealth Games — from conception to completion — that quite merits the excellence certificate. No aspect of it was a signpost for the future or a new standard of international performance. This is where the organizers of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi fell behind those who had planned the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The latter, as soon as they learnt that Beijing would host the Olympics, decided to present to China and the world a stadium that would be iconic — something that would serve as a benchmark of international creativity in the 21st century, a stadium that would become part of the history of contemporary architecture. To this end, they initiated a bidding process for internationally acclaimed architects. The bid was won by Herzog and de Meuron who went on to design the Bird’s Nest stadium that was acclaimed, immediately after its inauguration, as one of the marvels of modern architecture.

No one in India thought in those terms and on that scale for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The aim was competence, not excellence. This was overlaid by the fear of disaster. India is thus happy with what it has got. There is a refusal here to recognize what it has missed. The failure to aspire is the hallmark of mediocrity and this was the characteristic feature of the Games. Indians wonder what is so special about an iconic building like the Bird’s Nest. Inherent in that wonder is the measure of the distance between excellence and competence, between the grand and the mediocre, between pride and satisfaction. The frog who lived in the well, as the old fable says, didn’t know there was a world outside.