Deepika Global, Dec 2002

HYDERABAD: Never forget to dream. That was the message from the President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam before he inaugurated the 32nd National Games at the Gachibowli Stadium here on Friday.

Fireworks set the sky afire as the lasers danced far into the distance, touching the skies. It was a proud moment for every Hyderabadi, after K Eswar Rao and Mulini Reddy jointly got the Games flame going and a crowd of nearly 60,000 spectators stood up as one and added their voices to the thunder of crackers. The Flame was lit to the strains of a special composition by music maestro A R Rahman while Sivamani belted the drums.

It was feast to the eyes as the artistes gave their performances enthralling the audiences. For the first time, the spectators did not just sit back but directly participated in the ceremonies Spectators were on their feet as pop singers Usha Uthup and Remo Fernandes performed and another singing phenomenon S P Balasubramaniam enthralled the audience. S P rendered the "Vandemataram" number to evoke a sense of national integrity through sport.

Remo, who had performed at Pune National Games about eight years ago, was back again taking traditional folk songs from different states and giving them contemporary arrangements and orchestration.

Some other singers who kept the spectators swaying were Ila Arun and Sukhwinder of "Chaiya Chaiya" fame and super percussionist Shivamani.

It was also a moment of triumph for chief minister Chandrababu Naidu as he was lauded roundly for his vision and the guts in providing world-class facilities for the largest ever National Games of the 22nd century.

"If we have to succeed in today’s world we need to foster team work," he added. "One of the best ways to develop a culture of working together is to engage young people in games and sports."

"Dreams turn into thoughts and thoughts turn into realities," said Dr Kalam as he extolled the athletes to reach for higher targets for the greater glory of the land.