Indian culture flying high at Glasgow (CWG Diary)

Glasgow, July 26 (IANS) Along with sporting glory, India's rich culture and heritage is also the toast of the 20th Commonwealth Games with an exhibition celebrating Glasgow's role in the Closing Ceremony of the Games in Delhi four years ago.

Entitled 'The Road from Delhi', the fortnight-long exhibition that began Saturday explores the common links between Delhi and Glasgow and celebrates the cultural and artistic similarities of the two cities.

Besides capturing the flag handover ceremony in Delhi and replete with athletes' jerseys and colourful closing ceremony costumes, the exhibition also evokes the present, providing a sense of Glasgow today with the 2014 games as the primary backdrop.

The display at the Riverside Museum includes a dazzling decorated cycle-rickshaw brought all the way from Ludhiana in Punjab and newly commissioned Northern Indian Truck Art.

Working closely with the Indian community in Glasgow, the organisers have created an audio-visual content reflecting the close relationship between the Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014 games.

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Times for selfies and belfies

With selfies and instant photo-sharing nothing less than a rage, the organisers too are cashing on the fad offering the 'Postcard' app to create a personalised memento of the Games.

Available on iTunes and Google Play, the app allows one to upload selfies live from the Games and convert them into official Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games personalised postcards.

With new categories of selfies like Belfie - selfies of the posterior - gaining popularity, the free app has become a big hit registering numerous downloads.

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Big Big Sing

The organisers have lined up a host of interactive workshops on dance, music, singing etc, to ensure the Glasgow Games become as much a cultural celebration as a sporting extravaganza.

One such, Big Big Sing, aims to inspire thousands of people across Britain to sing to celebrate the Glasgow Games. Whether it's in the shower, with a choir, or at one of the events - the project hopes to make singing the soundtrack to the Games.

Since July 18, choirs are performing throughout Glasgow on stages and also via flashmob choirs.

"And you're invited! Come along, bring your friends and family, make some noise, have a laugh and a dance - it'll put a Big Big Big smile on your face," is how the organisers are inviting you.