The Hindu Business Line : Getting together at Bangkok

Held at the beginning or end of the selling season, annual get-togethers of sales teams result in bonhomie, despite a feeling that such bashes might be a trifle overdone and certainly more expensive with each passing year.

The annual jamboree with dealers and sales executives, sometimes euphemistically described as a sales conference, is a high point of the corporate marketing calendar. Having had my share of running such gala events years ago, when they were still a novelty, I was delighted to find the tradition very much alive, when a few weeks ago I was invited to a massive convention of some 650 delegates in Bangkok, the beautifully vibrant capital of Thailand.

All such events have to be well planned, with some business sessions followed by sumptuous drinks and dinner, an evening of congratulations and prize giving, and general whooping it up. Typically held at the beginning or the tail end of the selling season, these get-togethers result in bonhomie and a feel-good factor that is to be seen-to-be-believed, despite the sceptics feeling that such bashes might be a trifle overdone and certainly more expensive with each passing year. With the coming of multinational companies and more categories (for instance, lubricants and oils) becoming battlefields for brands, the trader population is nowadays quite used to being wined and dined and spoilt with the hype and are probably becoming a little blasé about it all.

The events are very difficult to pull off flawlessly; flight schedules and hotel standards for instance, are beyond one's control. It is every bit as taxing physically and emotionally draining for the organising group as conducting a wedding. So many details have to be got just right — from complicated travel schedules, rooms, entertainment, reception teams, to providing the right mix of the familiar and the exotic in food, and the details of the actual conference itself. No wonder that event management has become a business in its own right. One finds on reflection that the key to staging a good meet is not to try to please every whim and fancy but to remain approachable and flexible and retain empathy for the great diversity in delegates. The variety and range of the people, drawn from almost every State of the country, is a fascinating study. There is always the sizeable band of the warm and friendly Punjabis, ready for a laugh and a good time, full of life and jokes, even if these are sometimes a bit blue at the edges. Most dealers and sales managers are worldly-wise and liberal minded enough to sample the local delights which a city like Bangkok abounds in, as a dream tourist destination, with the nightlife tailor-made for the more adventurous in spirit.

The marketing team had made arrangements with great forethought for sightseeing and visiting the famous beach resorts well before the conference started. Some dealers from States such as Gujarat and Rajasthan can be very particular about their vegetarian diet. Some bring a week's supply of homemade dry snacks and rotis. There are some who have lived on cornflakes, toast and yoghurt; they tasted nothing cooked whatsoever, limiting themselves to the locally available fruit.

This particular host company had arranged a team of Indian cooks to make sure no one missed his curd rice and rasam, even in Bangkok. As for the Thai delicacies, the CEO himself had chosen the menus for vegetarians on the night of the special dinner, on board a launch cruising along the famous Chao Praya river. And all of this has to be done while looking after the visitors and some dignitaries who expect to get special attention all the time and can be pretty vociferous if they don't.

A visual treat

Bangkok city itself was a treat for sore eyes. It has recovered remarkably from the debilitating effects of the currency crisis that started the East Asian meltdown. There is the huge new bridge over the river, connecting the old and the new capitals, and miles of elevated toll roads to swing you into the city from airport at a remarkable speed.

Staying at one of the luxurious hotels that line the riverbank, one managed to escape the infamous traffic jam, which has caused many a school-mom to find innovative ways of equipping the car for emergencies when bringing children home from school could take over an hour. Instead we saw the brilliantly arranged parades and uniformed children lining the roads on the King's birthday, which fell on the very Sunday we reached the city.

Tourists are given gentle advice on a few things to avoid, one of which is any reference to the monarchy other than in glowing terms. Finger pointing and touching the head of any person, including children, is to be avoided. The people are unusually friendly and smiling is seemingly the national pastime. Guides do speak good English, though with the heavily Chinese-influenced enunciation of consonants, which takes a while to get used to.

The visits to the reclining Buddha and the golden Buddha were most enjoyable. There were neither suffocating crowds nor any touts in sight, nor indeed a presence of the police force. Discipline appeared to be quite self-imposed. Starting with removing one's shoe before entering a shrine, and obeying the instructions not to touch the exquisitely painted walls, the protocol was maintained easily and unobtrusively.

The palace could be seen only in part but the sense of history, reflected in the museum of coins and costumes, was marvellous to see. Friends from India could not help wondering why we, who have such a long and impressive treasure of the past, do not quite manage the same widespread concern to preserve and display our heritage. One could not help musing how wonderful it would be if the same tourists could obey instructions and maintain environmental cleanliness, while travelling within India.

To see how in many different ways Indian culture has influenced neighbouring lands never fails to amaze — beginning with the Sanskrit words, Buddhist and Hindu customs and rituals, names of gods, people and places — to name just a few. An hour's drive from Bangkok there is another Ayuthia, but a non-controversial one, where a dynasty of kings called Rama did actually reign for centuries. As an amateur student of history and languages it was wonderful to see references to "Thotsakan (Ravana) King of Longka" and "the battles of Kumpkan and Indrasit". So far and yet so near, if you know what I mean!

The famous Emerald Buddha, which is in fact carved in jade, was covered in plaster and thought to be an ordinary image until the surface peeled off to reveal the gem inside! Though tiny in comparison to the massive reclining one (46 metres long and almost two storeys in height and wrapped in gold), the emerald Buddha is dressed according to the seasons, its costumes for the rains, winter and summer being changed, ceremonially presided over by the King.

Thailand has its share of regional differences, especially with the Islamic districts deep south. But on the day we arrived, the government put on a unique show of peaceful intentions towards the troubled provinces. Millions of artistically made paper cranes, crafted by people including thousands of children, were airdropped over the territories ravaged by violence — truly an extraordinary gesture. Although one was in a foreign land, here was an example that humanity after all is much the same everywhere and we can all learn from each other at so many different levels.

What started as yet another annual business gathering turned out in the end to be a most educative and enjoyable experience all round.

Ceremonial celebrations mark the 77th birthday of Thai King Bhumibol at the royal palace in Bangkok.

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