Passing the Baton: From Pak to India, with love

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The countdown has begun. With just 100 days to go for what would be India's greatest sporting extravaganza - the XIX Commonwealth Games - to be hosted in Delhi from October 3, 2010, today the Queen's Baton made its way to India from Pakistan through the Wagah-Attari border. And for once the din of enemy gunfire, the clamour of diplomatic rhetoric and the silences of hostility were drowned out by the soulful Sufi and Qawwali numbers performed by the Wadali brothers from India and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan from Pakistan.

Borders are meant to divide. Cynical men and women drew them to make 'a people of the same collective consciousness', find reasons to hate, to remain at odds. Today, sport, music and a specially-handcrafted Queen's Baton, which some people find to be a relic of the colonial hangover the Commonwealth Nations seem to harbour, made a huge stride in undoing what we, Indians and Pakistanis, managed to do to ourselves through the baggage of the Partition, history and war. Few know that it was Pakistan that supported India to the hilt in our bid for these Games. Terror, oil, land disputes and parochial interests alienate the world but the Queen's Baton over the last 240 days and 1,70,000 kms united humanity across 70 Commonwealth Nations.

The journey to unite and build "Friendship through Sports" will continue. Over the next 100 days the Baton will criss-cross all 28 states and 7 Union Territories, covering about 20,000 kms and will use every conceivable mode of transport while sampling the sights, sounds and flavours of more than 200 cities, small towns and villages of our exotic wonderland- India.

The Queen's Baton will pass through the hands of thousands - rich and poor, old and young, celebrities and commoners. Not everybody will be lucky enough to hold the Baton physically. But don't let that dampen your spirit or our enthusiasm. The kind folks at CNN-IBN have taken the lead in partnering the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 in developing an online portal, where anyone, at any time can carry the Queen's Baton virtually. All one needs to do is to log on to http://ibnlive.in.com/qbr/

The unique online initiative provides information on destinations that the Queen's Baton would cover, a map of India that allows you to track it in real time, all the important information relating to the Delhi 2010 Games and a chance to cement for yourself a place in Commonwealth Games history.

It's a 100 days to go for the Games. 100 days to cheer the Baton on as it passes through our main streets and cramped gallis. A 100 days to showcase our unity. A 100 days to celebrate sporting excellence and humanity. A 100 days to shed our inhibitions and complexes. A 100 days to host the world in our backyard. But more importantly it's a 100 days to show the world that we are ready. India is ready to claim its rightful place in world.