Brazil — A Spectacular Journey

Brazil — A Spectacular Journey (August 2009)

In August 2009, I travelled to Brazil in my capacity as Chairman of the Gujarat State Handlooms & Handicrafts Development Corporation to participate in the House & Gift Fair in São Paulo, held from 15 to 18 August. It was essentially an official business visit, intended to explore markets for Gujarat's handlooms, handicrafts, textiles and home-furnishing products. The fair was described as one of the most important professional fairs for home furnishings in Latin America and among the major such fairs in the world. More than a thousand exhibitors participated, including a large number of Brazilian companies and international exhibitors from several countries.

From the point of view of immediate business, the outcome was moderate rather than spectacular. Our stall was placed in an internal row of the international section, and therefore did not receive the same footfall as some of the more prominent areas. The main crowds were attracted to the larger sections dealing with home decoration and furnishings. Nevertheless, our products did attract genuine interest. We displayed Gujarati stoles and scarves in silk, Patola, wool and cotton, wall hangings, bed sheets, carpets, key chains and other handicrafts. We had also prepared a collection of fabric samples covering block printing, vegetable and chemical dyes, handlooms, Mashru weaving and other designs. Attractive catalogues, photographs and product codes helped visitors understand what we were offering.

What surprised me pleasantly was the warmth with which many Brazilians received the Indian presence. Visitors greeted us with “Namaste” and “Shukriya,” and some told us about the popularity of television programmes on India. There were serious enquiries from designers, textile companies and buyers interested in block prints, Mashru and cotton fabrics. The Indian Consulate and ITPO officials also visited the fair and were helpful. We collected contacts and enquiries that could potentially develop into business later.

The experience also taught me something about international trade. Having a good product is only one part of the equation. The product must reach the market, the buyer must understand it, the importer must be able to bring it in, and the entire chain of customs, duties, documentation, language and distribution must work. At that time, import procedures and duties in Brazil were considered significant constraints. Language was another barrier. Portuguese was essential for serious local business, and an Indian exporter could not simply arrive with a catalogue and expect the market to come to him. Local representation and persistent follow-up were important. An ITPO-associated expert advised us that a reliable local agent could act as a bridge between Indian producers and Brazilian buyers.

For me, this was a familiar lesson from administration as well as business: creating an opportunity is not enough; one must build the institutional bridge that allows the opportunity to reach the intended beneficiary.

But Brazil had something else in store for us.

The business event may have been average from the commercial point of view, but the journey outside the exhibition hall became spectacular.

Our travel across Brazil, partly by air and partly by bus, introduced us to a landscape very different from India. Vast stretches of grassland appeared to continue towards the horizon. There were open spaces, farms and an enormous cattle population. Looking at those cattle, I felt a curious connection with Gujarat. Much of the cattle I saw reminded me of the breeds and livestock traditions familiar in my own State, particularly the cattle associated with the Bhavnagar region. Gujarat's livestock had travelled much farther than I had imagined, and seeing such animals in the Brazilian landscape created a small but unexpected bridge between two distant countries.

The Brazilian countryside also made me think about scale. India is accustomed to dense settlement. In many parts of our country, fields, houses, roads, people and animals exist in close proximity. Brazil gives the eye a different experience—space. Large expanses of grassland and agricultural land create a feeling of openness that is difficult to understand until one has travelled through it.

The food offered another cultural experience. Brazilian bakery products were attractive and abundant, but to my Indian taste many of them were extraordinarily sweet. I enjoyed tasting them, but after a few encounters I began to feel that their sweetness had gone several steps beyond my comfort zone! Whatever the competition, however, I would still say that Brazilian bakery items were impressive in appearance and variety.

The real highlight of the journey came when we visited Rio de Janeiro.

Time was limited, so I could not visit the famous Christ the Redeemer statue. I regretted missing it, but the city itself compensated in other ways. Rio's setting between mountains, sea and urban settlement is spectacular. Its beaches, the movement of people along the waterfront and the dramatic landscape create an atmosphere unlike anything I had experienced before. We also visited shops dealing in precious stones, another fascinating aspect of the country and its natural wealth.

But the most unforgettable experience was still ahead of us.

It was Iguazu Falls.

I had seen waterfalls before. I had seen photographs of Iguazu. Nothing had prepared me for the actual experience.

The scale of the falls, the enormous volume of water, the continuous roar, the spray rising into the air and the surrounding landscape created an experience that was almost overwhelming. One could not simply “look” at Iguazu. One had to stand before it and absorb it with the eyes, ears and the whole body.

I was so engrossed in the spectacle that I did something which I still remember with a mixture of amusement and regret.

My camera had a protective cover fixed to my belt. During the excitement of watching the falls, I somehow dropped the cover.

I did not even realise it immediately.

The waterfall had taken away my attention completely.

The flow of water, the thunderous sound, the mist in the air and the sheer magnificence of nature created a memory that has remained with me much more vividly than the business meetings of the trip.

There are moments in travel when a place stops being a tourist attraction and becomes an experience.

Iguazu was such a moment.

The water seemed to be in perpetual motion, yet the scene itself created a strange stillness within me. I could stand there for a long time simply watching. Nature had created something that no architect, engineer or artist could reproduce.

For an administrator accustomed to files, meetings, targets, budgets and deadlines, such moments are particularly valuable. They remind us that there is a world outside our constructed systems—a world in which the scale and power of nature dwarf our daily concerns.

We travelled back towards São Paulo by air and road, and the journey itself became part of the experience. The Brazilian landscape, grasslands and cattle remained with me. Travelling by bus gave us a closer view of the country than an aircraft could provide. From the window, one could observe the changing landscape, settlements, farms and the immense scale of the land.

I had gone to Brazil to promote Gujarat's handlooms and handicrafts.

Instead, Brazil also promoted itself to me.

It showed me the value of scale in agriculture, the importance of international markets, the challenges of language and trade regulations, and the possibilities for Indian handicrafts in distant markets. But beyond all that, it gave me a lesson in nature and perspective.

The return journey from Brazil added an unexpected bonus. Our flight from São Paulo involved a transit halt at Istanbul, and because we missed the connecting flight, the airline arranged accommodation for us for the night. We had to bear the cost of the transit visa ourselves, but what initially looked like an inconvenience became an opportunity to see a city that I might otherwise have passed through without stopping.

Istanbul was unlike anywhere else I had seen. It seemed to live simultaneously in several centuries. History and modern life stood side by side in its crowded streets, markets and monuments. We wandered through the lively bazaars and visited the magnificent Sultan Ahmed Mosque, popularly known as the Blue Mosque. From one corner of its courtyard, the blue waters of the Sea of Marmara appeared beyond the city, while domes and minarets rose against the skyline. The view gave a sense of Istanbul's extraordinary position between continents and cultures.

We also visited the Topkapı Palace Museum, where the splendour of the Ottoman Empire was on full display. The museum houses many Islamic relics and objects traditionally attributed to Prophet Muhammad, along with precious stones, ornaments and other treasures. Standing before them, one could almost imagine the wealth and power of an empire that had once stretched across vast parts of the world.

The Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar added another dimension to the experience. The colours, smells and sounds were irresistible. We bought colourful peppers, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, hoping to carry back not merely souvenirs but a little of Istanbul's fragrance. We also came across a traditional hamam, or Turkish bath. We did not enter for the bath; the old saying, “हमाम में सब नंगे हैं,” was enough to make us enjoy the place from a safe distance!

By evening, the streets had become even more animated. Food stalls were doing brisk business, most of them offering non-vegetarian curries and buns. Being vegetarian, we began searching for something suitable and eventually discovered chana masala at one stall. Seeing the large bowls being served to other customers, we decided that one plate of vegetarian curry and two buns would be enough for us to share. The vendor looked at us with amusement and asked whether we were Pakistani, apparently surprised that two people were ordering such a small meal. We laughed. It was one of those spontaneous encounters with local people that no itinerary can plan.

The stopover in Istanbul lasted only a short while, but it remained with me far longer than many carefully planned visits. São Paulo had been the official purpose of the journey; Brazil had given me its vast landscapes, Rio and the unforgettable Iguazu Falls; and Istanbul, almost by accident, gave the return journey its own little story. Travel often works that way. The most memorable experiences are not always the ones we set out to find.

Looking back, the House & Gift Fair was useful, but it was not the fair that made the journey memorable.

The business results were modest. There were enquiries, contacts and possibilities, but international business requires continuous follow-up, local representation and persistence. A single exhibition rarely creates a market by itself.

The real success of the journey was elsewhere.

It was in discovering Brazil beyond São Paulo's exhibition halls—in its vast grasslands, its cattle, its beaches, its precious stones, its cities and, above all, in the unforgettable roar of Iguazu Falls.

There was also something personally satisfying in seeing cattle in Brazil that reminded me of Gujarat. It was a reminder that human beings, animals, agriculture and trade connect places that appear impossibly distant on a map.

I often think of that journey as an example of how travel changes the meaning of an official assignment.

We may begin a journey with one objective, but the journey itself decides what we finally bring home.

I went to Brazil carrying Gujarat's textiles and handicrafts.

I returned carrying a little piece of Brazil—the vast landscape, the warmth of its people, the sweetness of its bakery, the colours of Rio, the memory of its cattle and, above all, the unforgettable sound and mist of Iguazu.

The camera cover that slipped from my belt was a small loss.

The memory that replaced it was priceless.