Months of preparation finally culminated in the world culture festival. The whole world came together in love and commitment to make a difference . I was part of the team responsible for protocol and guest relations for the event which gave me an insight into what the world thinks about india. The prime minister of the country, Seven former heads of state, 40 MPs from the world over, countless CEOs were present for the event representing nearly every continent (I say nearly for the simple reason that Antarctica wasn’t represented ). Everyone was looking forward to what the festival had in store for them.
At the end of the first day as the guests trooped in to the hotel, the impact of the event was palpable in their reactions and body language. Never before had they seen such commitment, joy and enthusiasm . Lakhs of people, unfazed by the rain and hailstones braved the elements and celebrated the coming together of humanity. The performers executed their moves driving wet on a slippery stage, yet everyone was full of enthusiasm and energy. Here they saw hope for the world – a message of harmony in the midst of strife torn world. We all went to bed feeling proud of our country, our civilisation, our traditions and values.
I woke up next morning and saw the newspaper tagged to my room door. Full of enthusiasm I opened the papers only to find it filled with negativity. I was ashamed to call this an Indian newspaper. It was worse than a tabloid.
How could our leading daily project India in such a bad light. Don’t they too feel proud when India pulls off something at such a grand scale. Especially when the leaders of all these countries feel so good about it. In an event where each dance could form a story, where each speech from a foreign dignitary could form a proud headline, in an event where not a single soul got hurt, a section of our media went around hunting and digging for negative stories..
I felt sad too for news mongering has fallen to such depths that it is just not in touch with reality. I just hope sense prevails and these guys regain a little bit of ethics in their life.
My only worry during the greatest event ever, was to somehow not let any of these fictional, sensational, lie spreading national dailies reach our foreign guests so they could bask in the glory of this celebration of love and peace.
Dear Hindustan Times you guys let us all down!