Case Study published in Strategic Marketing - Economic Times Brand Equity

A to Z Work Travelogue : Carefree in Colombo

"Mita, when you firm up your plans, do make sure you keep a day for Kandy". That was my good friend and colleague, Bandara, from Colombo. His ever smiling face would only be punctuated by a spontaneous guffaw but more about that and his famous quips, later in this piece.

In those days, with both my children under 10 years, I followed a simple formula of first flight out and last flight in, trying to pack all in a day's work. International tours were different and some destinations I had to necessarily put in an extra day or two, given the flight frequency. Colombo, by that measure was not too bad. I planned the tour over three days. We had our office there and I was visiting more for a strategic partnership between two group companies and was not bogged down with the pressures of customer visits and negotiations. 

Top right - an aerial view of Kandy Lake

Hanging on the wall, in prominent view, was a framed degree of law. Bandara quipped, it was to remind visiting overseas Bosses that he had an alternative profession. Our conversation began with the Kandy visit and he summarily brushed aside any suggestion that it would not be possible. "Let us focus on what work we need to get done, work late and squeeze out a half day for your visit".

Wattalappa
 

This settled, next on the agenda was dinner The fact that I loved seafood was a very important detail in my favour. This was further sealed when I asked for Wattalappa for dessert. Memories of that evening at Beach Wadiya are slightly fading now, but for the smiling faces of my host and hostess. "Every man accepts his wife as the Minister of Home Affairs. I give her the formal title", quipped Bandara, as he introduced me to his wife, Mantri.

The first impressions of Colombo are the different drape of the saree and either gently smiling or inscrutable faces - never a frown. Despite being a bustling metro, it retains the charm of a beach town. On that first visit, I covered a fair number of dealer counters traversing winding roads, lined on both sides by single storey houses with a fair green cover. One particularly long stretch between two counters, I figured was also a detour as the sales manager had a personal errand! Such is the gentle pace of life and work, as I witnessed in Colombo.

I made three more visits; the last one a lovely holiday when we stayed at the Colombo Swimming Club (featured in my blog Club-a-Holiday). In between, we had a dealer conference and returning to the city after a ten year gap one saw the normal progression of freeways and better connectivity to the airport. Today, we do have Noritake outlets in India but not the variety and definitely not the almost 40% lower prices. Tea is celebrated as a priced tourism offer and you can pick up some lovely souvenirs of tea pouches housed in tiny copper kettles to gilted china elephants or cups. Equally interesting are the wooden masks. 

If you care for the local flavour, take a bus to the fresh foods market and pick up some dry semi-sambol spice powder,cloves, cardamom and mace. There is a very good chance that an apparently helpful stranger outside your hotel or a three-wheeler taxi, will take you to a gems outlet where equally smiling and persistent salesmen will try to sell you gemstone. Just look interested and remember to wear your smile, even if you are not interested in making a purchase. A dealer from Motihari, grumbled about the long travel time to Colombo with two transit stops but then grinned and thanked me for his bargain buy - a yellow sapphire.

Finally, a word for the local cuisine. A Sri Lankan's pride in their local dishes is unmistakable. For a non-vegetarian it is a difficult choice between seafood and mutton ishtew with hoppers. Seafood is not just about lobsters and crabs. There is a wide variety of fish, particularly the cuttlefish. The Wattalappa is probably a colonial legacy, a kind of caramel custard made with coconut milk.

Sun, scenic, seafood and smiles would sum up my Colombo memories.