Kalita the enlightener holds forth!

Bhubneshwar Kalita, the chef de mission of the contingent, was the man delivering it -- piece by piece, sherwani by sherwani, and saree by saree.

We have been allotted 640 beds in the Village. It is in three towers.  Each room has two beds and two athletes are sharing a room. It has an attached toilet, Kalita informed the gathering. We also have a refrigerator and a washing machine in every flat.

The athletes have already been provided with kit bags, Kalita said, and presented some nuggets about the contents of the bag.

Each kit bag includes t-shirts, warm-up shoes, two sets of track suits etc, he said.

Kalita said Indian male athletes at the opening ceremony will be wearing maroon sherwani and black trousers while the women will be dressed in red and green sarees. Kalita stressed that Indias aim was to improve their position on the medal table. We were fourth last year but we wont go below third this time, he said.

Being the host country, we have the advantage of fielding more athletes and we are utilising it.

Words of wisdom, indeed!