The Thai connection: Since the DoNER ministry was created we have heard of several business summits held across the country and in foreign locales. In the last five years the Northeast was aggressively marketed in high profile business conclaves at New York, Bangkok, Sydney and shortly at Vietnam. Whether these business pow-wow have yielded any concrete results is difficult to judge.
IMAGE: A trader displays his wares to a visitor at the Made in North East India fair in Thailand. ATelegraph picture
Business houses that have observed these meets feel they are nothing but jamborees which are funded by governments but actually do not translate into real investments for and in the Northeast.
Putting it mildly, the volatile situation in the region is not conducive to investment.
Though we should not stop wooing business houses, the focus should be on finding a vibrant market for our products. Products that are indigenous to the region and are not imported from outside and brought here only for value addition merely to avail the special economic incentives.
Meaningful move
It is in this context that one was delighted by the recent exhibition organised by the Industries and Trade Fair Association of Assam (ITFAA) and supported by the ministry of textiles, government of India’s Northeast branch, at Bangkok.
Seven artisans, one from each of the seven states, carried their wares and successfully exhibited them at the trade fair which started on January 26 this year.
Appropriately titled, Made in North East India, the fair was held at Fashion Island Shopping Centre Bangkok, one of Thailand’s biggest shopping malls in the heart of the city.
These may look like small initiatives but they add up to something meaningful. The gains of this exhibition, going by reports, should be reflected at the ITFAA-organised 16th International Guwahati Trade Fair, scheduled to be held on February 27 to March 10 at the Assam Engineering Institute Grounds at Chandmari.
Having gained from the Bangkok exposure, the organisers have promised to invite many more participating countries.
Showcase
Can the DoNER ministry learn something from such initiatives? That the Made in North East India fair was a well planned move by the organisers. For decades, the Northeast has been afflicted by the virus of bandh calls from insurgent outfits on January 26 and August 15, our national days.
This time the artisans and organisers came out in their colourful traditional dresses at the inaugural ceremony. It was truly a riot of colours and one that was much appreciated by the Thai visitors.
Apart from showcasing Northeast culture, the fair also succeeded in celebrating Republic Day in a befitting manner in the presence of former Thai Deputy Prime Minister and adviser to Thai Prime Minister Trirong Suwankiri and the first secretary (commercial) embassy of Thailand, Madhukar Asnani.
The highlight of the event was when Yaomi Sasa, an award winning potter from Ukhrul District of Manipur, bagged orders to the tune of $70,000, which he has to comply with by the next six months. He was overwhelmed and said this exhibition is the turning point in his life.
Ukhrul is famous for its pottery, which is unique in style and design. The pots are made from a particular blackish rock found exclusively in and around Ukhrul district. This rock is crushed into a fine powder, mixed with water and fashioned by the expert hands of the potter.
Exposure
Isabella Pakma from Mawkyndeng, Meghalaya, was ecstatic about her Thailand trip. She has never gone beyond Guwahati and going abroad was a dream come true for her.
Isabella specialises in cane and bamboo crafts which are exhibited regularly in the state from time to time.
This time she carried artificial flowers made from pinewood shavings, apart from bamboo stools (murrah). She also received encouraging enquiries from Santi Thai Arts Company of Thailand.
Manendra Deka of North East Handicrafts from Barpeta, Assam, made bamboo replicas of the rickshaw which the Thai people found very interesting. He, too, received large orders for his wares.
Suresh Das from Tripura exhibited colourful jewellery which caught the imagination of Thai women who made a beeline for his stall.
The exhibition was in fact a pot- pourri of the stylish and the ethnic.
Waistcoats made from traditional Naga weaves were very popular with Thai men. Trirong Suwankiri, who inaugurated the exhibition, sported a Naga waistcoat.
He was wildly applauded by the stall owners and Thai visitors as well as residents of Thailand who were from the Northeast and thronged the fair.
Learning process
This trade fair was not a one-way lane. Besides exhibiting their wares, the Northeast artisans were also ferried to different Thai handicraft centres.
The Royal family sponsored their visit to the Royal Folk Art at Sillapacheep Bangtrai of Ayuthaya province. Here the artisans saw bags and baskets made of kounna (a sort of silk) material.
Their next stop was the yarn lipoa (a type of cane) basketry where the visiting artisans were explained the process of manufacturing lipoa baskets.
There was a general air of friendliness and welcome from the Thai people who found a deep resonance between their own cultural crafts and those of the Northeast.
Earnest effort
Made in North East India is the effort of years of liaison built by ITFAA’s Rajesh Das with the Thai ministry of commerce.
The Thais have been visiting the Northeast to take part in the trade fairs organised by the ITFAA for several years now.
They have become familiar faces with those who frequent these melas, scouting around for souvenirs and bric-a-brac from the international stalls.
Rajesh Das, who led the team to Thailand, is an unassuming entrepreneur. His idea of a trade fair is that it should transcend commerce and build ties of friendship and cultural linkages.
The visit of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand to Assam recently to renew the cultural links with the Tai Ahoms indicates the interest of the Thai people to revisit their historical roots.
When culture and commerce converge we can only call it a perfect match.
(The writer, PATRICIA MUKHIM can be contacted at patricia17@rediffmail.com)
Source:
.::. All my articles can be view here: MELTED HEARTS .::.
IMAGE: A trader displays his wares to a visitor at the Made in North East India fair in Thailand. ATelegraph picture
Business houses that have observed these meets feel they are nothing but jamborees which are funded by governments but actually do not translate into real investments for and in the Northeast.
Putting it mildly, the volatile situation in the region is not conducive to investment.
Though we should not stop wooing business houses, the focus should be on finding a vibrant market for our products. Products that are indigenous to the region and are not imported from outside and brought here only for value addition merely to avail the special economic incentives.
Meaningful move
It is in this context that one was delighted by the recent exhibition organised by the Industries and Trade Fair Association of Assam (ITFAA) and supported by the ministry of textiles, government of India’s Northeast branch, at Bangkok.
Seven artisans, one from each of the seven states, carried their wares and successfully exhibited them at the trade fair which started on January 26 this year.
Appropriately titled, Made in North East India, the fair was held at Fashion Island Shopping Centre Bangkok, one of Thailand’s biggest shopping malls in the heart of the city.
These may look like small initiatives but they add up to something meaningful. The gains of this exhibition, going by reports, should be reflected at the ITFAA-organised 16th International Guwahati Trade Fair, scheduled to be held on February 27 to March 10 at the Assam Engineering Institute Grounds at Chandmari.
Having gained from the Bangkok exposure, the organisers have promised to invite many more participating countries.
Showcase
Can the DoNER ministry learn something from such initiatives? That the Made in North East India fair was a well planned move by the organisers. For decades, the Northeast has been afflicted by the virus of bandh calls from insurgent outfits on January 26 and August 15, our national days.
This time the artisans and organisers came out in their colourful traditional dresses at the inaugural ceremony. It was truly a riot of colours and one that was much appreciated by the Thai visitors.
Apart from showcasing Northeast culture, the fair also succeeded in celebrating Republic Day in a befitting manner in the presence of former Thai Deputy Prime Minister and adviser to Thai Prime Minister Trirong Suwankiri and the first secretary (commercial) embassy of Thailand, Madhukar Asnani.
The highlight of the event was when Yaomi Sasa, an award winning potter from Ukhrul District of Manipur, bagged orders to the tune of $70,000, which he has to comply with by the next six months. He was overwhelmed and said this exhibition is the turning point in his life.
Ukhrul is famous for its pottery, which is unique in style and design. The pots are made from a particular blackish rock found exclusively in and around Ukhrul district. This rock is crushed into a fine powder, mixed with water and fashioned by the expert hands of the potter.
Exposure
Isabella Pakma from Mawkyndeng, Meghalaya, was ecstatic about her Thailand trip. She has never gone beyond Guwahati and going abroad was a dream come true for her.
Isabella specialises in cane and bamboo crafts which are exhibited regularly in the state from time to time.
This time she carried artificial flowers made from pinewood shavings, apart from bamboo stools (murrah). She also received encouraging enquiries from Santi Thai Arts Company of Thailand.
Manendra Deka of North East Handicrafts from Barpeta, Assam, made bamboo replicas of the rickshaw which the Thai people found very interesting. He, too, received large orders for his wares.
Suresh Das from Tripura exhibited colourful jewellery which caught the imagination of Thai women who made a beeline for his stall.
The exhibition was in fact a pot- pourri of the stylish and the ethnic.
Waistcoats made from traditional Naga weaves were very popular with Thai men. Trirong Suwankiri, who inaugurated the exhibition, sported a Naga waistcoat.
He was wildly applauded by the stall owners and Thai visitors as well as residents of Thailand who were from the Northeast and thronged the fair.
Learning process
This trade fair was not a one-way lane. Besides exhibiting their wares, the Northeast artisans were also ferried to different Thai handicraft centres.
The Royal family sponsored their visit to the Royal Folk Art at Sillapacheep Bangtrai of Ayuthaya province. Here the artisans saw bags and baskets made of kounna (a sort of silk) material.
Their next stop was the yarn lipoa (a type of cane) basketry where the visiting artisans were explained the process of manufacturing lipoa baskets.
There was a general air of friendliness and welcome from the Thai people who found a deep resonance between their own cultural crafts and those of the Northeast.
Earnest effort
Made in North East India is the effort of years of liaison built by ITFAA’s Rajesh Das with the Thai ministry of commerce.
The Thais have been visiting the Northeast to take part in the trade fairs organised by the ITFAA for several years now.
They have become familiar faces with those who frequent these melas, scouting around for souvenirs and bric-a-brac from the international stalls.
Rajesh Das, who led the team to Thailand, is an unassuming entrepreneur. His idea of a trade fair is that it should transcend commerce and build ties of friendship and cultural linkages.
The visit of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand to Assam recently to renew the cultural links with the Tai Ahoms indicates the interest of the Thai people to revisit their historical roots.
When culture and commerce converge we can only call it a perfect match.
(The writer, PATRICIA MUKHIM can be contacted at patricia17@rediffmail.com)
Source:
.::. All my articles can be view here: MELTED HEARTS .::.
No comments:
Post a Comment