India has always been described as highly colourful and tantalising to the senses and the Closing Ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi was no different. Just when people thought the heart-pounding excitement seen over the last two weeks would die down once the sporting action at Delhi 2010 concluded, it just went up a notch! And then it went up further!

The declaration announcing the conclusion of Delhi 2010 was celebrated by a stunning laser show that projected a perfect blend of technical wizardry and artistic elegance. As the awed spectators watched, there was more to come.

If there’s one thing that India is renowned for, it’s for knowing how to put on a musical show.  The lasers slowly faded away, and it was, as the emcee said, time to rock! Several chart-topping musicians, across the genres of Sufi, Folk, Global and Indi-Pop, performed a medley of hits. DJs Nasha, Sunny Sarid, Midival Punditz and Suketu spun their magic as Kailash Kher, Zila Khan, Sukhwinder, Ila Arun, Usha Uthup, Shaan, Shiamak Davar, Shankar Mahadevan, Shubha Mudgal, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sreeram, Kamal Sabri, Niladri Kumar, Bikram Ghosh, Sivamani, Raghav Sachar, Taufique Qureshi and dhol players showcased a unique mix of Indian heritage and modern pop culture.

Adding zest to the already spicy Indian flavour were the dance troupes whose presence seemed to make the stadium seem like that most famous of Indian customs – a wedding!  Even as the audience sang along with several chart-busting numbers, the athletes could be seen dancing with abandon. Indeed a carnival atmosphere!

And to wrap it up in style, there was a supremely spectacular pyrotechnic show that not only drew appreciative gasps from those present at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, but even those miles away!