Friday, October 30, 2009

Relay baton depicts India’s diverse culture & tradition

The Queen’s Baton Relay which began its journey in London on Thursday portrays an intricate fusion of ancient and modern India with the soil from all parts of India layered on to a fabric that covers the helix-shaped aluminium case.

A technological marvel that took shape at the Foley Design studio in the heart of Bangalore over the last seven months, the 664-mm high baton was created with the help of Titan Industries in Hosur, Tamil Nadu and a technology consortium led by Bharat Electronics Limited.

“We won the bid last December piping seven other firms and commenced work in March this year. A group of eight from the Foley Design studio created and developed the baton,” Michael Foley, MD of Foley Designs, told from London.

“The multi-colored soil depicts the diverse culture and traditions of India. The top of the baton is a jewellery box which contains the Queen’s message inscribed on 18 carat gold palm leaf. It is a blend of handicraft and machine work,” said Foley, who passed out of the National Institute of Design in 1994.

The baton is capable of lighting up in the flag colors of all the 70 countries it passes through. “The Light Emitting Diodes (LED) embedded in the baton will transform into the colors of country’s flag in which the baton arrives,” Foley said. The baton, weighing 1900 grams, is powered by a nine-volt rechargeable battery that can run up to eight hours.

Athletes carrying the baton can also record their messages and images and sounds to the blue tooth enabled baton. It will be relayed to base station in the accompanying vehicle and to the CWG website. The location of the baton can also be tracked throughout its journey through the Global Positioning System (GPS) embedded in it.

Fans can send in messages and already quite a few proud Indians have texted their message to the baton.

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