BIG B, A.R.R.,Olympic torch in London:Updated

By WSJ Staff

India's presence at the London Olympics goes beyond the 81 athletes who will be competing at the Summer Games, which kick off Friday.

And no, we're not just talking about Amitabh Bachchan ' though he's definitely involved.

The Bollywood actor was part of the celebrity relay team that Thursday carried the Olympic torch through a part of London.

Television channels showed Mr. Bachchan in a white track suit, alternating between a brisk walk and a slow jog, as he held the Olympic flame in his hand.

Mr. Bachchan earlier warned in his blog that recent surgery would likely prevent him from running the whole way, roughly 300 meters.

Mr. Bachchan described the honor of carrying the Olympic torch through the British capital as "a moment to be hopefully remembered by the grandchildren."

He is not the only high-profile Indian from the world of arts and culture associated with the Olympics, a testament to the deep-running ties between the U.K. and the Subcontinent.

After the success of "Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman is again partnering with Danny Boyle, this time for the opening ceremony of the Games.

Mr. Rahman has composed a Punjabi track for the event, which Mr. Boyle is directing. The Oscar-winning composer has said the track will "celebrate the Indian influence in the U.K."

And there's also the ArcelorMittal Orbit, a tower of twisted, latticed tubular steel that is set to be one of the lasting legacies of the London Olympics.

Fine, this is not strictly Indian. But many of those involved in the project have roots in the Subcontinent.

Turner Prize-winning British sculptor Anish Kapoor, who designed the Orbit, was born in Mumbai. He worked on the 114.5-meter high structure, which he called "the commission of a lifetime," with Sri Lankan architect Cecil Balmond.

The public art installation, an idea of London mayor Boris Johnson, takes its name from the company of the London-based Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. ArcelorMittal funded 19.6 million of the 22.7 million it cost to build. The rest of the money came from the London Development Agency.

Instability and dynamism are the key concepts behind the sculpture, which sponsors hope will become an iconic landmark ' London's equivalent of the Eiffel Tower.

The project has received mixed reviews, with descriptions ranging from "something close to a masterpiece" to a "catastrophic collision between two cranes on the Olympic site."

Once the Orbit officially opens Friday, fee-paying visitors will be able to climb to its viewing platform for a vista of the Olympic Park and surrounding East London.

Not all of India's contributions to the Games are cheerful, however. "Bhopal ' A Silent Picture" is an ongoing exhibition at the offices of Amnesty International that aims to draw attention to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.

In 1984, thousands died in the central Indian city when gas leaked from a pesticide factory owned by a subsidiary of Union Carbide Corp. Dow Chemical Co., which later bought Union Carbide, is one of the sponsors of the London Olympics.

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Amitabh Bachchan carries Olympic torch in London