Plane to Pakistan

The PIA flight that we took from Bombay to Karachi was the first taste of Pakistan and its duality. Pakistan is a place where the modern and the traditional operate individually and together at the same time. The flight started with a prayer to Allah and was followed with the articulate captain giving a lowdown on the flight in perfect brit accent. This is a recurring theme – there is a much clearer Pakistan A and a Pakistan B than in India and this is apparent and represented typically by an young westernized MBA (typically eating in McDonald’s) and the Lal Masjid students with their kurta shalwar and white skull caps or by a slick TV Anchor interviewing a Mullah each with a point of view that they cannot reconcile. The difference from India is that this conversation is excessively polite with language dripping with ‘Takaluf”. Incidentally PIA beats Air India hands down – I guess much like an India Pak hockey match.

Karachi is a cross between Bombay and Hyderabad. The people that one meets on the job are typically Mumbai – business and time focused. Given the traffic jams (a bigger nightmare than Bangalore), I guess they need to be really efficient with there working hours, so that they can fight their way back home. The traffic scene was especially pathetic because Karachi got exceptionally high amount of rain (it is located in a very dry part) and some of the poshest localities were under a few feet of water ( see pic) – we had a Toyota that doubled up pretty well as a motor boat. The people (esp. our partners) were exceptionally hospitable (this is the Hyderabadi part) and the dinner at a Barbeque place was quite amazing. We ordered lamb ribs among other things and huge portion arrived. We dug into it and within minutes it had disappeared. Simply the best barbeque dish I have ever had. By the way, we are required to report to a Police Station within 24 hours of arrival, but thanks to our influential partners, we escaped the trip. Not only did they register us they also got us permission to go to Lahore. In Lahore, we had to report within 24 hours on arrival, which we did. I would like to report here that the innards of a police station in both countries are exactly the same.

Lahore is a place worth visiting. The roads are excellent; the builings are a Victorian, Islamic mix and have real charm. The best part of the city is the way these buildings are maintained and lit up in the night. The lighting is subtle, with highlights that bring out the beauty of their architecture. The best photo from my collection is that of the Badshah Mosque at about 10 pm at night from a quaint eatery called Coco’s Café . The view was magnificent and the Mosque is impressive and very well maintained. This was constructed by (who else) Shah Jahan and about 60,000 people can pray at a time. The Café is bang in the middle of Heera Mandi, the red light district well known enough to partly define Lahore. While the food was good, especially the karela with the lamb, it did not quite approach the Karachi Barbeque. Coco’s Café hit the Time Magazine in 2006 as the most interesting restaurant in a red light district as it also doubles up as the studio of a Pakistani Hussain who specializes in painting the denizens of Heera Mandi. I bought a signed print as a keepsake and as encouragement to Hussain Mia.

On the business end of the trip, a few questions needed to be answered at a broader level. Is the consumer boom similar to India? How is the politics of extremism impacting the common middle class folk? How will the consumers react to a brand that is Indian and seen as such? What is the impact of marketing vehicles?

Pakistan has been growing in the 5-6% range for the last 3 to 4 years and it is showing in a retail boom and success of new concepts and international brands taking root. In all the modern parts of town – McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut are prominent, much more so than in India. Toyota and Honda are the best selling upper segment cars but the best selling car is a 800 cc Maruti like Suzuki (called Mehran there, I think) and this is as should be given the very India like growth in the middle classes (though much lower than in India as a proportion, I suspect.). The 2-wheeler population is also decently high with Honda at the upper end and many, many Chinese brands at the lower end. The consumer seems upbeat despite all the political uncertainties and it shows in crowded restaurants and market areas. The Malling has just started – with quite a few “tourists” in the 2 malls we visited in Karachi. The shops were empty but the escalators were well used. The youthful exuberance of Karachi is also obvious, and it was amply demonstrated as we landed in Pakistan on the 14th of August. There were crowds of motorcyclists zooming around with the flag painted on their faces and waving the green crescent. Read in the papers that in Karachi alone, 5 youth died in different motorcycles accidents attempting the “wheelie” and other tricks (and this is without any booze being available!). The edit in the newspaper blamed this on the very little diversion or time pass stuff being available to the youth. It did remind me of my youth in Hyderabad, which was quite similar. While the Indian youth seems to have countless number of things to do, Pakistani youth could still about 10 or 20 years behind. This is probably reflected in all aspects of the market, be it retail or advertising.

On the political part one does get the feeling that the two Pakistan’s are still at loggerheads and the Pakistan A has not won through and there is real danger of the mullahs getting increased control. Benazir’s statement that Pakistan can go the Iran way is not really an overstatement. The consumerisation is not going to ease matters and one hopes that real growth in the economy will create a middle class capable of binding the two ends. The media is less controlled than I expected and this is apparent with the newspapers like Dawn, who routinely dissect Musharraf and his doings. They also frankly look at Pakistan’s reality and perception that the country is a bit of a satellite state. It irks and one person also described themselves as still ‘slaves’. That comment is probably a bit over the top, but the fact that it rankles is apparent. In their perception of India – they see it as a giant, who is ahead right now with major industries and prestige, but in my perception do not suffer from a feeling of inferiority, they are just stating facts as they see it. They strike me as straight speaking lot – with a yen for good things in life. Guess it is the Punjabi influence that brings in this vim and vigor. The other striking thing that I noticed is the influence and accomplishments of the girls. Not only are they beating the boys in academics as they are in India but are dominating advertising and marketing roles in key companies and the boys are trying hard to catch up. And yes, the modern lot is into Levis and you can see some smoking in hotels and the like places. I have seen a lot more burquas in Hyderabad than I saw in Pakistan, probably because we did not tour the older parts of the cities

Now to the issue of Indian companies and brands getting in there as they were readying themselves a couple of years ago. How will they be received? Will there be resistance just because they come from India?

This question is a bit more difficult to address. The only major success of an Indian product is that of Bollywood and of soap channels like Star Plus. The films and the actors are amazingly popular – in a poll conducted Shah Rukh Khan was more popular in Pakistan than he was in India. The awareness of Indian products is also likely to be quite high – demonstrated by the hotel clerk who asked me if I was from the watch company. He knew who the brand ambassadors were etc. While these are extremely popular – they are also not officially recognized. Only one theatre was running a joint India Pak production and doing very well. With suitable products for Pakistan, high initial awareness and similar modes of doing business, Indian brands will probably do well as long as they project themselves not as Indian, but as global brands that happen to have originated in India. It is unlikely that the negative feeling will rub off on brands but in an extreme situations, there could be fallouts for the brands. On the other hand if trade does start off and the visa restrictions are eased – the extreme situation may never actually occur and it can be a truly win win situation. With that happy thought – let me signoff the Pakistani way – “ Allah Hafiz”