We're told the world is worried about New Delhi's Commonwealth Games. That world will be Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. Canada is always taking notes because Hamilton lost out on the 2010 spoils and they've believed for long that New Delhi was a dud.

To be fair, there is much to worry about. In Delhi every entrance to every public space - crowded markets, metro stations, airports, malls - contains a metal detector and cops on frisking duty. Every road is being dug up, every side street blocked off, every junction has diversions, every wall of every stadium being modelled or remodelled.

Naturally, Britain demands to know if New Delhi will be safe. Australia asks, will it be ready. Canada wonders whether it will get a little cold. Yes, yes and most certainly not.

That's not the main dilemma in this giant construction site of a city. The community in and around the 2010 Commonwealth Games is in a state of utter confusion about the alien arrival.

What else is lawn bows if not alien? Which sport has a ditch and a pivotal feature named after a guy called Jack. Jack is the reason for lawn bowls' most stirring athletic moments. Three hours of competitors walking up and down on the "greens", which used to be real lawns, but in Delhi is an artificial surface. An eight nations trial event took place at the CWG bowling venue this week and even the giant screen put up for 'spectator interest' collapsed. Sheer boredom was suspected to be the villain. Organizers explained rules patiently to befuddled reporters and informed them that the Eight Nations was neither 'ticketed' nor promoted. Journalists, always cynical, wondered why it had to be reported then. The only valid conclusion is that lawn bowls actually gives synchro swimming some longed-for street cred. OK, anything for some swim suits and water-proof make-up.

Then there's netball. India knows about it because of Steve Waugh. With Arctic winds whipping around his icy stare, Waugh made it famous here, once saying, "If you want an easy game, go play netball." Given those withering words and the fact that only women play it, many would suspect netball is some knitting competition involving skeins of wool.

But athletes from other sports have been hijacked to form the first Indian team and there are still hopes about ticketing or promotion. Think of the sport's simple visuals. Women. Skirts. The accidental possibility of elbows in the ribs.

And finally, rugby. Yes, Indians do play it, there is even a team which competes. When the boys decided to practice drills on the grounds of their luxury hotel in Delhi recently, hotel staff and mystified chaffeurs from the parking lot gathered. When was the fist fight? Should ambulances be on stand by? If they wanted to wrestle, why did they run? And if they wanted to run, then why wrestle? The vice chancellor's ground at Delhi University' North campus has been turned into the rugby venue which international officials have approved of. It is not to be a 'legacy' venue though. Once the Commonwealth leaves, the ground will return to its old self. A cricket field.

Alright then, bring on the aliens.

BPL contributor Sharda Ugra is an editor and writer with India Today.