Long, long ago in the year 1988, I visited Trocadero to get one of the best views of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Lo and behold, it truly was an unforgettable sight indeed.
Tonight (July 26), at 11 pm (IST), the French President, Emmanuel Macron will make his remarks at Trocadero where the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics-2024 is scheduled to be held with 10,000 athletes from 206 nations taking part.
The opening ceremony will be historic as it will be the first time to be held outside a traditional stadium. It will feature a 6 km parade by trained performers, who will be joined by athletes on boats along the river Seine. It will begin at the Austerlitz Bridge and conclude at the Trocadero.
When I read in the media that Trocadero would be the focal point in the Games’ inaugural, images flashed before my eyes of that cold winter night in December 1988 when I stood dwarfed by the iconic Eiffel Tower, once the tallest structure in Europe.
Incidentally, on that day, I was reminded of the huge hit and impression that the ‘Festival of India’ in France of 1986 had made among the French people. Coincidentally, Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister inaugurated it at the same venue-The Trocadero, which is the vantage point to admire the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower was built to serve as the entrance gateway to the International Exposition of 1889 as well as a testament to French industrial ingenuity.
The French were exposed to Indian art, culture, music etc over two weeks. For the first time, elephants were airlifted to the place. Pandit Ravishankar, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Alla Rakha (Tabla maestro), danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, Pt Shiv Kumar (Santoor) etc., regaled the French audiences.
As a return gesture, the then French President, Francois Mitterrand announced a ‘Festival of France in India in 1989’. It was to coincide with the bi-centenary of the French Revolution and the centenary of the Eiffel Tower. The events were held in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, etc. in the middle of 1989.
My trip to Paris in December 1988 was to visit some important places and developments in France and write for the PTI (Press Trust of India) as curtain raiser reports on the ensuing Festival of France in India in 1989.
Being the guest of the French Government, I was put up in a hotel named ‘Fleur de etoille’ (The Little Flower), which was close to the Trocadero. When I saw the tariff, I got a minor shock. The daily room rent (in francs) with breakfast was equivalent to my one-month salary.
During the 13-day trip, I was fortunate to visit many of the landmarks of Paris like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, lunch on a boat ride on the river Seine that separates the Left and Right banks of the city (Incidentally, a French traveller, Jean-Baptise Tavernier who visited Hyderabad in the mid 16th century compared the Hussain Sagar lake with the river Seine); Rodin’s garden of sculpture, cabaret at the Moulin Rouge, the Palais de Versailles, etc.
Olympics & Hyderabad representation
Now, back to Paris Olympics 2024, the 112-member Indian contingent is being led by 2-time, badminton Olympic medalist, P V Sindhu, and table tennis star, Sharath Kamal, who will be the flag bearers.
Hyderabad can boast of 6 of the athletes- P V Sindhu, Nikhat Zareen (Boxer), Esha Singh (shooter), H S Prannoy, Satwik Chirag (badminton) and Sreeja Akula (Table Tennis) in the contingent.
In the management team, Gagan Narang will be in-charge of overseeing the shooting village operations. India has a strong shooting team and hopes to win some medals. He is a bronze medalist in the 10m air rifle event in the 2012 Olympics in London. G Rajaraman, a well known sports journalist is the Press Attaché for the Indian Olympic Association.
Rajaraman brings a wealth of experience in sports journalism and communications. His expertise will play a crucial role in ensuring effective media coverage and communication during the prestigious event, says Khel Now.
Rajaraman is from the BCJ class of 1982, Osmania University, Department of Communication and Journalism and my batchmate too. He began his career with The Hindu in March 1983.
India hopes to better its performance at the 16-day sports extravaganza in Paris. Its best-ever performance so far has been winning 7 medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Paris has already hosted the Olympic Games in 1900 and 1924.
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