Sanjeev Trivedi, New Delhi: As the planes carrying the Heads of states from across the world made a touchdown at the Palam Technical Area everything in the national capital appeared transformed. Names big and not so big as they alighted appeared so thankful and delighted.
President Biden could be seen matching the beats of the artists who performed at the Airport in his honour. The impression that the roots beckoned was writ large on Prime Minister Sunak’s face even as his wife Akshata watched him humbly treading on the land of his forefathers.
From the leaders of those countries who have especially been called as guests to the leader from the African Union, there was nothing but gratitude for the hosts. India has arrived on the world stage and that’s something that’s written on the world horizon and in bold.
True to the philosophy of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam in the Maha Upanishad – the world looking from New Delhi seems to rest on ‘one earth which has nothing but one family and with one future’. On Saturday even as PM Modi stands firmly outside the Bharat Mandapam to welcome the Heads of State, he would be underlining the centrality of India in today’s world.
No toeing the line anymore as New Delhi is to determine the line now for the two-third of the populace who boast of eighty-five percent of the worlds GDP. In all, the G20 will have three sessions. Two on Saturday and the third one on Sunday. Every session bears the name of the theme of Delhi G20 with the first one named as One Earth’ the second One Family’ and the third as One Future’.
The two sessions on Saturday will be followed by a cultural evening aimed at showcasing the richness of our ‘diversity’ which many in the outside world interpret as our ‘differences’. President Murmu has invited the Guests for the Dinner after the cultural bonanza. That Gandhi is so dear to India and the Indians will be the idea when the world leaders are taken to the Rajghat before the third session begins on Sunday.
While the Leaders deal with nuances of world diplomacy special care has been taken to engage their Spouses to educate them about the wonder that is India. On Saturday, they are to visit the PUSA campus where the focus among other things will the unique spices of India.
They will stand to the gain a fairly sound knowledge of the Millets and its culinary richness. They will be taken to the National Gallery of Modern Arts where the crafts that define our country and its art will be on display. In the hugely built Media Centre besides the Bharat Mandapam, it’s a story of fulsome praises even as the foreign media marvels on the arrangements that has been put in place.
Not one soul is bothered about the absence of Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin as glitter of the gathering has pushed the sulking ones to the dead ends. The bureaucracy among whom several have been called from outside Delhi go about their job so deftly that for once it appears that Hospitality hides the practice and the alacrity that must have gone to attain the fineness in the tasks assigned to them.
Everything is set but with all G20 ministerial meetings in India preceding the G20 having failed to muster even one joint statement, the chances are New Delhi may become the first venue where a consensus may elude the participants.
That China and Russia will put up insurmountable demands to end the Ukraine War is a foregone conclusion. But chances are that efforts by our diplomats are afoot and the efforts to thrash out a joint statement will succeed as it happened at the last moment in Bali.
