Oh yaaro….Rahman launches CWG theme song

Zeenews Bureau Gurgaon: Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi unveiled the Commonwealth Games 2010 theme song in the inaugural ‘Swagatham’ ceremony here on Saturday. Oscar winning music composer AR Rahman launched the theme song of the Commonwealth Games with a rendering of "Oh yaaro, yeh India bula liya" at a glittering ceremony here.Rahman sung the song for around five minutes in front of a gathering which included Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, her Haryana counterpart Bhupinder Singh Hooda and CWG Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi. The function also saw some enthralling dance performance by ‘Sadya’ group followed by another Gypsy group dance show by the artists from Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Arts. After the song was unveiled, Rahman said that he could not decide on the song till the very last moment. “I feel honoured to get the opportunity to compose the theme song for the mega-event. It was not an easy task. I had started composing it six months ago and finished just last night,” Rahman said. A beaming Kalmadi hailed the launch of the theme song as a good beginning to the hosting of successful Games. "A well beginning is the half job done. Now onwards you will listen this song day in and day out. It is the first move towards a great Commonwealth Games, which we had promised years back," Kalmadi said. He said that he was happy with the sale of tickets for the Games, including the opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Confident about the preparations for the October event, Kalmadi claimed that the Games would be better and a bigger success than the Beijing Olympics. “It is going to be a great Commonwealth Games, better than the Beijing Olympics,” said an enthusiastic Kalmadi. “It was many years back when we won the hosting rights for the CWG. We defeated nations like Hamilton and Canada to get the hosting rights. We then promised that we will give the world a great Commonwealth Games, and today I claim that we will deliver it,” Kalmadi added. The IOA President also said that the event was not only about New Delhi and that it was a matter of national pride. “We are Team India and we will make sure that the CWG are a success,” he said. Kalmadi added the CWG will have a “great opening and closing ceremony”. “The opening ceremony will depict 5000 years of Indian culture. We are prepared and we will do it,” he elaborated. Also present on the occasion was Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit, who said that the Commonwealth Games in the national capital would be the ‘most memorable Games ever held’. “I join everybody else in a belief that the CWG is going to be the most memorable Games ever held. I am confident that Delhi, with India behind it, will achieve what many people think is impossible,” Dixit said. Dikshit was all praise for Rahman, saying, “I am extremely happy that Rahman agreed to do the job. We could not have found a better person for it. I am confident that Delhi, with the whole India behind it, will achieve what many people believe is not possible.” “I hope that with this song we will now swing into the Games with broad smile. There are lots of problems, but I do believe that the end will be good,” she added. The launch of the theme song got delayed after the Group of Ministers overseeing the quadrennial sporting extravaganza asked Rahman to change it a little bit. Meanwhile, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was also present during the CWG theme song launch ceremony, said that it is not just a sporting event, and that “India will celebrate the CWG like a festival”. “Haryana will do whatever it takes to make CWG a success as it is a matter of national pride. I assure Mr. Kalmadi that Haryana will win the maximum number of medals in the Games,” a confident Hooda said.