Glorious blooms at the 2013 Chiangmai Flower Festival Story & pictures by Rama Gaind
iad of organisations, pass you by with beautiful festival queens taking pride of place, looking resplendent in their stunTHE 2013 Chiangmai Flower Festival, in ning gowns and tiaras, followed or preThailand, was a robust profusion of joyous ceded by marchers, dancing troupes, peocolours, attracting the masses on an annual ple wearing national and regional cosbasis. tumes, dancers in traditional outfits perIt may often be called the ‘Rose of the forming Thai dances, accompanied by North’, but Chiangmai continues to blos- marching bands and musicians playing som gloriously with the festival on the first familiar music including It’s Now or weekend of February every year. Never, Baby Elephant Walk and the theme Flowers were everywhere as a colourful, from Bonanza that evoked nostalgia of aromatic floral tapestry transformed the sur- bygone days. rounding landscape. In fact, it’s the king- Eye-catching floral displays dom’s horticultural abundance that supports In fact, decorations are not just limited to its cut flower industry and exports. roses, but at last count there were more The street party atmosphere at the 37th than 200 varieties of flowers used in decannual festival was overwhelming. orations and on the floats. Particularly eye-catching are the flower Palpitating excitement surrounded you, anticipation permeated the atmosphere and beds in public spaces at this time of year. Stunning displays are everywhere: superb sounds and smells were omnipresent. It was controlled chaos on a bright and array of orchids, marigolds, chrysanthesun-shiny day: loud colours, restless adults mums, gladioli, globe amaranth, azaleas, and children awaiting the start of the roses, exotic orchids, showy bougainvil- • Crowds surge forward to see a float festooned with flowers at the 2013 Chiangmai Flower Festival in parade, an assortment of aromas in abun- lea, the damask rose, a variety found onlyThailand. Photo: Rama Gaind dance and vendors pounded the streets sell- in Chiangmai and the pink and purplish ing their wares from an assortment of food dendrobium orchids, and the yellow daoru- ulation of 800,000, while the city has biodiversity. 300,000. You will feel heartened and come away ang. and knick-knacks to balloons and birds. with many gardening tips! What’s astounding is that the more cre- Other garden highlights Finally, there’s movement and the parade with more than 25 fabulous flower floats ative Thais recreate the ancient scriptures After the festivities, head to other botanical Rama Gaind travelled as a gets underway. The passing floats are by telling their stories in flower sculptures! gardens that abound in northern Thailand. The Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden (a guest of the Tourism Authority The floats parade around the city, recount ablaze with creative designs as they are of Thailand and Absolutely clumped together to make structures of all important segments of Lanna and Thai his- Royal Family project)—2,600 acres of Fantastic Holidays. tory, tell a story lifted from the scriptures or it— puts focus on conservation of imaginable shapes and sizes! Be constantly astounded as the colossal, are simply artistic floral renditions of tem- indigenous plants and plant research. Ratchaphruek Royal Park, about 20 elaborately decorated floats, complete with ples and famous Thai structures, icons and amazing design details, representing a myr- figures. Each float has a Miss Festival rep- kilometers south-west of Chiangmai, is home to a cool rainforest encloresentative onboard. sure as well as an international The Lanna experience Chiangmai, founded in the 13th cen- themed garden section. Tweechol Botanic Garden has its tury as the capital of the Lanna Kingdom, boasts a vibrant culture, own petting zoo, rice paddy • Eye-catching parrich traditions and ancient Buddhist fields, organic ticipants were seen farm, a riding temples. at Thailand’s annual This capital of Chiang Mai arena, camping Chiangmai Flower Province is the largest and most cul- facilities and a Festival on February turally significant city in northern museum onsite. 2, 2013. Photo: The 10ha, Thailand. Rama Gaind Located 700km north of Bangkok, privately-run among the highest mountains in the Dokmai Garden country, the city is along the Ping aims to share River, a major tributary of the Chao knowledge about The 37th annual Chiangmai Flower Festival in Thailand Phraya River. monsoon gardendrew big crowds. Photo: Rama Gaind The province has an estimated pop- ing, farming and
Management lessons from Kumbh By Santhosh Babu THERE are management lessons for leaders in large gatherings and events. Look at an event like the Kumbh Mela in India and explore what makes it a success. This largest gathering on earth has naked sadhus to Wall Street bankers floating in a temporary city created every 12 years at the confluence of three holy rivers in Allahabad. The temporary city is laid out on a grid, constructed and deconstructed within a matter of weeks. How does such a huge gathering emerge from nowhere and function harmoniously? How is it that people thrive in an environment that is densely crowded, intensely noisy and often unsanitary? Not to mention the cold, dust, pollution and overwhelming diversity of people. Considering that these 100 million people that visit the banks of a river during six to eight weeks constitute more than the population of several countries, also considering that the law and order situation in India's crowded cities is not something that we can be proud of, we still manage the Kumbh Mela, the mother of all gatherings on earth. It is just like the Woodstock Festival, where half a million people came together in 1968, happening every year, attracting millions of people creating chaos and a perfect order. Interestingly, even though Woodstock is not happening, there is the Burning Man Festival that is held in a temporary city in Nevada, US, (built and erased within a month) where the event goes on every year; this year's event had around 60,000 people attending. Not since Woodstock's '3 days of peace and music' over four decades back has a festival captured the attention of the US academia. Just as they did decades ago, scholars are asking whether Burning Man is a window to a new kind of community or a Utopian dream destined to crash and burn. What can we learn from these gigantic gatherings that congregate seemingly effortlessly (though a lot of effort goes into making the gathering a safe one)? What lessons does the event offer for organisations and countries? The event has a tendency to expand horizons, reveal possibilities, and question the assumptions that most of us 28 — THE BRISBANE INDIAN TIMES, March, 2013
make about how we're supposed to live our lives. People from all walks of life participate in this festival dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. They depart one week later, leaving no trace whatsoever. When you give people freedom, you get chaos, but you also get incredible creativity and a great variety of expression. I have heard about how people create great marvels during this one week ranging from great art installations to seminars on alternate healing. Google Inc. founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, festival veterans, have said they give extra weightage to job applicants who have been to Burning Man. It's high time we sent our political leaders and corporate CEOs to Kumbh Mela. Importance of having a shared big purpose: Having a shared purpose and aspiration is the bond that connects communities together. Kumbh Mela and Burning Man have it and we need to create this shared purpose and dream in our communities and organisations. Every political leader and corporate CEO struggle to create a shared dream in her or his constituency or organisation. Companies that have imbibed the shared aspiration work like a strong networked and connected community. Organisations that don't create a shared aspiration are www.indiantimes.com.au
designed to fail. You must keep in mind that this aspiration needs to be a higher purpose, not the quarterly numbers that you are chasing. What would be really meaningful for everyone? How are you making a difference in this world? What is the legacy you want to leave behind? Answer these questions and find out what would be a bigger purpose that would connect everyone in your organisation. What would be a bigger purpose for India? Touching the hearts: Once the bigger purpose is articulated, there has to be personal freedom and freedom to express oneself. Organisations and communities are learning that the 'command and control' management does not work much in today's world. A paradigm shift from controlling and accumulating power to a systems view of management is needed now. It helps us to see organisations and communities as living systems that are constantly changing. Any pressure, any intrusion and change in one part of the system will have an overall impact. Combined with the networked nature of our community where Facebook took only two years to reach 50 million people, controlling personal freedom will not give any advantage to authorities. Build a culture of self-expression and accountability to the purpose. People's behaviour is influenced by the culture we create. That's why Kerala has a culture and behaviour that are different from Punjab's. Shared Leadership: Once the higher purpose is defined and personal expression is encouraged, it's about creating shared leadership. Leadership can be explored as a social process - something that happens between people. It is not so much what leaders do as something that arises out of social relationships. As such it does not depend on one person, but on how people act together to make sense of the situations that face them. At many events like Kumbh Mela, it's not one person but a shared leadership that creates the ownership. So creating a higher purpose, nurturing personal freedom and expression and developing shared leadership are the key to creating meaningful organisations and communities. Jai Ho to the Naga Sadhus! Call Trudi on 07 3356 0102