The Hindu Business Line : It's Davos-time, again!

WHERE is Davos? Who goes there? What do they do? And, what happens there? These are question in the minds of CEOs of most progressive, growth-oriented companies. Many of them aspire. Most of them are confused. Some decide to go anyway, despite the huge costs. Over the past 20 years, the number of Indians going to the World Economic Forum hosted by this Swiss town only seems to be growing. This year, Davos will see India bringing the largest contingent of top industrialists from any country.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has taken a 40-member CEO delegation in Davos, under its president, Mr Anand Mahindra, and Director-General, Mr Tarun Das. Among the industrialists attending the Davos meeting are Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries Ltd; Mr Rahul Bajaj, CMD, Bajaj Auto Ltd., and Mr Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Industries.

Mr Arun Shourie, Union Minister of Disinvestment, Information Technology and Communications, is leading the government delegation, of which Mr N. K. Singh, Member, Planning Commission, is also a part.

More than 2,500 top business leaders, 200 political leaders and 200 foremost academic experts in every domain, including Nobel laureates and some 250 media experts, come together in Davos to shape the global agenda and build trust at the WEF, the latest edition of which began on Wednesday and will end on Sunday. The WEF is a networking venue for participants to catch up with business associates, at the same place, same time, year after year.

And what of the place? There is no airport in Davos, or anywhere close by. The nearest you can get by plane — that is, if you happen to have a private jet — is the airstrip at Saint-Moritz. And there is only one road up the mountain. There is a shuttle bus from Zurich Airport to Davos. Alternatively, take the train or hire a limo from the Zurich airport.

Hotels are insanely overpriced in Davos, and need to be booked well in advance. The Congress Centre, where most events happen, resembles a heavily fortified army camp. You have to go through a metal detector every time you enter the hall. You have to carry your passport at all times. You need to register and obtain the white badge to sign up for the sessions and attend the dinners. Along with your badges you will be handed a canvas briefcase crammed with information: The `programme' of sessions, a directory the size of a Pocket Larousse(!), listing the forum's participants, and a handheld colour-screen iPaq computer, the size of a Palm pilot. With this amazing gadget, you can e-mail other conferees and download video clips of conference sessions — if you can figure out how it worked!

The badges are more than decorative: To get into a session, you have to go to a `kiosk' — they are in all the hotel lobbies and the various cafes of the Congress Centre — and hold up the badge to a screen to log on.The scene inside the Congress Centre is beyond hectic. You will quickly get used to the phenomenon of celebrities in snow boots. Still, it was mildly shocking to see George Soros presiding at a table right by the front door, and to glance up while perusing the shelves of the Congress Centre bookstore (stocked entirely with books by participants) and find Bill Gates hurrying past! Most participants have appointments scheduled every 15 minutes. They are in Davos not to learn about ``Prospects for Reform in Kazakhstan!'' They are there to drum up business.

The information overload is unnerving: Data from Reuters and Bloomberg flash on giant screens; people tap out e-mails on the kiosk screens while consulting their iPaqs or talk on cell phones. There is no time off.

At the Soiree, lavish spread is laid out for the participants. Buffet with scrumptious desserts hardly cover the case: The tables are laden with elaborate French pastries, platters of roast duck, caviar, and crab legs on ice. Waiters armed with bottles of Veuve Clicquot and mammoth slabs of meat on lances circulate among the guests. The object should be to enjoy the evening. The WEF President Klaus Schwab and his wife personally greet every guest as they arrive.

Sunday is "Sports Day" — a brief but welcome surcease from global-agenda talk. Participants have a choice of activities: Skiing, horse-drawn-sleigh rides, or "snow games" on the "snow beach" of the Schatzalp.

By the time you get down from the mountain, its probably too late to change, so you may go into your sessions in your ski clothes! No one cares. It is one of the charms of Davos that you can show up at most functions in a bomber jacket or a three-piece suit and not feel out of place!

(The author, a former Director of CII, is a Business Consultant living in Cologne, Germany. This article is based on a personal experience while attending the Davos meetings from 1993-2001.)