The logistics of transporting and accommodating some 45 classical dancers, 140 performers and folk artistes, 15 technical assistants, 15 chefs, 10 handicraft specialists and getting US visas for them in time was another long story. Said Alka Jha, director, ministry of culture, “There were constant challenges to face. For instance, the stage on which the dancers were performing at the South Street Seaport was covered with linoleum. Under the late summer sun the surface had become far too hot and our dancers were starting getting sores on their feet. So it needed to be covered and sprinkled with ice-cold water.”

So the question is: Was the Incredible India@60 campaign — estimates for which range from $10-20 million — worth the effort? It is never easy to answer such a query, given the fact that returns on brand-building exercises don’t lend themselves to neat tabulation.

Sanjay Kothari, additional director-general, tourism, put it this way, “We have begun the process of highlighting India. It’s now a question of institutionalising it.” There was a two-fold objective. “We wanted to project the globalised face of India — its growth rate of 9 per cent, the fact that it is the world’s fourth largest internet user, and that sort of thing. Second, we wanted to tell Americans that there is more to India than the golden triangle of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur, that this is a country with 26 World Heritage Sites and a variety of languages and cultures.” Kothari saw this as a continuation of the ‘Incredible India’ mother campaign, which had had its run in the UK and Europe. “The idea was to showcase India when the world’s leaders assembled in New York for the UNGA and that we have achieved.”

... contd.