With the grand finale of the grand games, CYG has marked another milestone in the history of the city. More than just the best athletes and the world-class infrastructure, CYG2008 showcased a vibrant cultural extravaganza too. While the opening and closing ceremony came along with mega celebrations, the other five days also witnessed grand festivities.

"This was the first ever international sport event held in the country. Having 71 participating nations, the idea was to bring forth the varied colours of our culture for everyone to witness and enjoy," says Shubhra Mehendirata, creative director of Rangpuhar, an event management company that organised the cultural programmes every evening.

"Being the hosts, we wanted the athletes to feel the family-like atmosphere when they win. Every evening we had a felicitation rally where the winning athletes saw the cheer and celebration for their victory. All athletes, foreign and Indian, whoever won medals that day sat in the carts among the bandwagon of dancers and performers representing diverse culture of our country," says Sanjay Mehendirata, director, Rangpuhar.

Apart from this rally the cultural centre at Balewadi stadium had different cultural programmes lined up everyday. "From jazzy DJ nights to cultural dance performances, there was a lot to keep the participants and guests entertain. Apart from this we also had handpicked handicraft artists from various regions of the country displaying their best," says Shubhra Mehendirata.

The main highlights were the Monestic Mass dance by the Lamas, from Sikkim and the Coolie Kali group from Tirchur, "We roped in the performers from their natives for which we also needed the support of their state administrations. Knowing it was for the CYG platform, we got good support from the ministry of culture too," said Shubra Mehendirata.

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