Journalism of Courage
The inaugural F1 weekend in India had many significant firsts
Granted,Greater Noida is no Monaco. It lacks the fairytale ambience of the Mediterranean,casinos,yachts and palaces. The approach to the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida,NCR,is desolate,but you do have an occasional life-sized poster of Mayawati for company on the highway. Still,the BIC on Friday night lived up to the worldwide reputation of F1,of style and glamour,and all things magnificently beautiful.
The Metallica concert being cancelled and vandalised and reports of stray dogs on the tracks were mild dampeners,at least once you reached LAP Lounge. Large enough to host 20,000 partygoers,the venue was dazzling yet understated. Flowers and dim fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling,the walls were decorated with large paintings of erstwhile Indian royalty,while the resplendent red velvet carpet at the entrance made all guests feel like they were heading to the Oscars. Of course,the celebrity caste system in international nightclubs applied here as well: the junta was restricted to the ground level,while at the level above,the stars (Rampal,Sussanne Roshan,Dino Morea) mingled with an assortment of Delhi socialites. At midnight,Bernie Ecclestone cut a three-tier birthday cake,complete with a vertical racing car,surrounded by a bevy of clapping,Eastern European beauties and Rampal uncorking champagne. Trapeze artists suddenly descended from nowhere,hanging upside down on satin ropes,and hooded pole dancers gyrated to the tunes of DJ Roger Sanchez. A man in a robot suit (I thought he was from Ra.One) danced to his own lazer show.
This is not Noida. It was surreal,and briefly,we were all transported to
St Tropez,minus the beach and sea breeze. With the debacle of the Commonwealth Games fresh in our memories,nobody would bet on smooth sailing at the Indian F1,yet,at least,the partying bit (a very important component of F1) was extremely well-handled. The ambience was right; Indias highrollers were dancing into the night in a sports complex,built literally in the middle of nowhere. With thousands of motorsport fans across the world,there is enormous revenue to be generated from hosting a single F1 race. But fans dont come just for the racing,they come for the whole package of shopping,entertainment,nightlife and food. And safety. Its yet another opportunity to showcase Delhi and establish our place among the greatest cities of the world. Do we have it in us to handle it right,for once?
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