Arjun

Corruption at heart of Games' chaos

For the past few days I've been covering the run up to the Commonwealth Games.
 
On my first day off in two weeks, I met my cousin Arjun who took me to the Andhra Pradesh Bhavan canteen in Delhi.
 
For about $4 I ate one of the most delicious and filling Indian meals I've ever tasted.
 
But it's not the food that impressed me. I was taken by the organisation borne out of chaos.
 
The canteen seats around 80 people, but in three hours fed about 1,000, with amazing personal service.
 
Overseeing the dozen waiters winding their way through the hundreds of patrons, was a manager in a loud orange Hawaiian shirt, as wide as he was tall.
 
I'm writing about this because it validated the fact that in India, there is method to the madness.
 
One of the main criticisms of the Commonwealth Games was that India started preparations three years after the bid, losing precious time.