PARIS: When the alarm starts ringing a dreary bell! This too must be historic, travelling 600km daily to cover an event. The morning trains to Chateauroux seemed like they were in some different age now. Yet, those morning rituals are fresh in mind. Wake up at 4.30am to catch the train; travel 300km one side and take a bus to the Shooting Centre. Then take a train back after speaking to the medallists and rush to a venue in Paris to cover some other sport.
It was quite hectic for those journalists covering the shooting events at the Olympics in Paris, the very thought of waking up in the morning would drive sleep away. Even if one dozes off, the alarm starts ringing in quick intervals and with such ferocity that it turns into some kind of trauma. Those going to Chateauroux would walk and greet their peers at the station like a somnambulist and sleep on the train for two and a half hours. The only thing that seemed like a consolation at Chateauroux were the fresh coffee and croissant. And of course the medals!
Right outside the Gare de Chateauroux was one American museum. For those who are wondering why, the quaint countryside of France has had a brush with Americans, between 1951 and 1967, when its air force had its base. This is vivid inside the museum where one can see everything that is American and four old men and a woman, must be in their seventies, with their own stories of the town.
Castelroussin, as the people of Chateauroux call themselves, were swept off their feet by the flashy Americans, their big cars, hot dogs and music. The lady said that so much was the impact that the girls in the neighbourhood would fall for the Americans. There was inter-mingling too. She said that even now Americans who stayed here would come and visit the place. Some donated whatever they have to the museum.
"Even now some donate money," she said. The info board reveals the story more candidly. "Young French girls love the big American cars and their seductive drivers with cigarettes, chewing gum and dollars. Moreover, at this time many mixed marriages would be celebrated in the Indre region," said the display board.
The chewing gum packets, the uniforms, iconic Zippo lighters, and whiskeys were on display at the museum. Chateauroux does have an American touch.
Opening Ceremony blues
Paris had organised the first ever open-air Opening Ceremony. They brought out the mesmerising first act of the Games on the river Seine. Covering it would be spectacular too and of course unprecedented. Umm; wait it was almost spectacular but in a different sense. Because it is a high-demand event, each of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are allotted a fixed number of seats, both tabled and non-tabled. India, too, were allotted, which were distributed among the journalists. This person was allotted a non-tabled seat.
Such an Opening Ceremony was new to everyone. So getting a non-tabled seat in a stadium is fine. No one knew how it would turn out. For the three who have been given these SEATS, it turned out to be a wild adventure. It was on the other side of Seine (where the ceremony would begin). Six kilometres down it would end. As soon as we reached the non-tabled seat, there was no seat but an embankment, we realised that it was not the place to be. Close to the bridge of Bastille, that's the only historical landmark of the city visible.
We had to be in front of the Eiffel Tower. If the athletes traversed the city on Seine, this diarist travelled on different kinds of underground ‘Metropolitan’ through a maze of tunnels until we reached Victor Hugo. A long walk took us closer to the Seine and the Eiffel.
Just when everything seemed fine, the sky opened up. With the deadline looming, writing articles was the priority. Finding an entrance to an apartment, all sat to write. A little while later, a man came and said it was a private property, in a highly respectful manner. The next destination was under a window ledge of the higher floors.
It was pouring and three journalists were under one umbrella for more than three hours. It reminded one of that family planning ad.
Invoking the spirits
Minutes before Nishant Dev stepped into the ring here on Wednesday night, quite a few people were walking towards the Paris North Arena holding the national flag. A tall middle-aged man was leading the pack and looked merry with the tricolour wrapped around his body. There was a married couple, a young boy, and another middle-aged man in the mix. The young boy was almost Nishant's age. After a brief conversation, it was clear that they were Nishant's family members. They are here to support him.
A younger-looking person pointed towards the tall man in his early fifties and said that he was Nishant's father. There were seven, eight of them. They reached Paris a day before Nishant's event and were due to stay back until the end of his campaign. Superstition and belief are two invisible hands that keep earth moving. The mother did not come. Strange, but Pawan said it was her choice.
"She believes in prayers and rituals so she stayed back," he said.
"She is praying for Nishant's victory back in the apartment."
The Gods may have listened to her prayers against Jose Rodriguez but on Saturday, he lost to Verde Alvarez Marco Alonso.
Station motifs
La Chapelle metro station is above the ground. Close to the station is the famous Muniyandi Vilas, a south Indian joint. The manager there was from Puducherry and workers from various parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Close to the Vilas, some 500 metres away is the Saravana Bhavan, an Indian restaurant. Even in the stations, one can find a few Indian and oriental faces. If the streets have got an Indian touch, the walk from Gare du Nord station to La Cheppelle reminds of India. The walls are adorned with paintings of various Indian Gods and Goddesses. One can see Lord Shiva, Ma Kali, Maa Durga and Saraswati.
If this wall was adorned with paintings of Gods and Goddesses, Gare Du Nord station walls have unique equations. A little probing reveals that those are climate change equations. Designed by artist Liam Gillick, it reminds us of the Climate Conference of 2015. Gillick through his neo-art form wanted to display something beautiful. And he used the medium of climate change models and equations.
As he explains: A series of equations that relate to a general circulation model of the coupled atmosphere-ocean-land system. A very powerful tool for simulation of Global Warming. Developed by Syukuro Manabe in the 1960s. The logical basis for understanding climate change science – Liam Gillick.
For now, it's bonne nuit Paris.