From 24 to 30 August 2021, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata organised its “Thai Festival 2021 – Online Edition” from 13.00 hrs. (India local time) onwards, via its Facebook LIVE and Youtube platforms. This “event of the year” brought about cultural shows, knowledge and entertainment to Indian and international audience under 3 different themes: Thai food, Thai products and crafts, and Thailand-India Relations, all of which are reunited under the master theme of “Thailand on My Mind”.

                    In fact, this is the first time the consular mission of Thailand in eastern India has successfully shifted itself to conducting a 100% online event to showcase Thai culture and generate live interactions with Indian audience from all parts of India, especially from West Bengal.

                    The Thai Festival 2021 – Online edition debuted with a video teaser to establish first contact with Indian audience and provide them with a sneak peak with what to expect in the upcoming days. On 25 August 2021, the first theme “Thai Food” went on air, followed by “Thai Products” on 26 August 2021 and “Thailand-India Relations” on 27 August 2021. Each day’s themed presentation was followed by LIVE quiz activities related to the show’s media content about Thailand, animated by Mr. Nutt Svasti-Salee, Consul, along with different invitees on each day. Participants who gave the right answers via Facebook LIVE would receive custom-made souvenirs from Thailand.

                    In addition to the above-mentioned main themes, on 28 August 2021, the Royal Thai Consulate-General launched 2 Thai cuisine demonstrations by Mrs. Waraporn Khenbai, Thai chef attached to Miss Sweeya Santipitaks, Consul-General of Thailand in Kolkata, and Miss Pisamorn Nontasri, personal assistant to the Consul-General of Thailand. On 29 August 2021, a final recap episode went on air to remind the audience of the highlights of the Thai Festival 2021 shows brought to the viewers thus far. To accompany those 2 weekend episodes, the Consulate invited Indian participants to join a photo contest, whereby each person may post photos of themselves with an object about Thailand.

                   The making of the “Thai Festival 2021 – Online Edition” comprises a variety of home-created Thai culture videos, interviews with Thai entrepreneurs, businesses and experts, as well as Thailand-related videos in many economic sectors. Audience can learn about the similarities and difference between Thai and Bengali food, learn how to create beautiful banana leaf crafts and Thai floral hanging garlands from scratch, gain knowledge and insights about Thai flower industries and Thai floral decorations, as well as deep linkages between Thailand and India through the history of traditional Thai fabric and costumes.

                   On 30 August 2021, last day of the Thai Festival 2021 – Online Edition event, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata organised a LIVE Facebook session of “Big Games & Prizes” to wrap up the last quizzes, state interesting facts about Thailand and celebrate Thai-Indian friendship, with major rewards for the winning participants. Furthermore, during the same LIVE show, Mr. Nutt Svasti-Salee, Consul, invited Miss Venus Asawapoom, Consul, to talk about “Learn Thai to Impress” and “Aahaarn-Aahaar (อาหาร-আহার)” videos which were produced to teach basic Thai in daily conversations and to present authentic Thai recipes in both non-vegetarian and vegetarian alternatives for Indian audience. This media content is considered side events (online) and integral part of the “Thai Festival 2021 – Online Edition”

                   The Royal Thai Consulate-General is thankful of infallible supports and sponsorships from a large variety of stakeholders, both Thai and Indian. Courtesies of location for filming teaser videos and Thai cuisine demonstration emanated from The Rajbari Bawali, a 350-year-old estate-turned-hotel, about one hour’s drive away from the city of Kolkata. The majority of the programmes of the programme were shot at “Baan Thai” Restaurant, The Oberoi Grand Kolkata, which has celebrated its 30^th anniversary, and is the first Thai restaurant in Kolkata to have been awarded with the “THAI SELECT” certification from the Ministry of Commerce, Royal Thai Government, to testify of its quality authentic Thai cuisine. The Thai Consulate wishes to also recognise the support from Team Thailand government agencies based in India, namely (1) the Tourism Authority of Thailand, New Delhi, (2) the Office of the Office of Commercial Affairs, New Delhi, for sponsoring gifts and souvenirs from Thailand as well as informative video clips about Thai food and tourism, and (3) Board of Investment of Thailand, Mumbai, for providing video clips related to Thailand’s potentials and opportunities for investment in the area of food security, art & crafts as well as skilled labour for manufacturing industries.

                   Last but not least, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata wishes to thank the participating personalities from Thailand and Kolkata who took part in the Thai Festival 2021 – Online Edition shows. First of all, the Consulate expresses its sincere gratitude to Miss Poorna Banerjee, Kolkata-based award-winning food blogger and avid fan of Thailand, and to Miss Ushoshi Sengupta, Miss India Universe 2010 and Kolkata’s celebrity icon. Both of them took part in all Thai Festival – Online Edition pre-recorded main shows about Thai food, Thai products and Thailand-India relations, and were the main Indian influencers who created genuine interactive Thailand-India dialogue and cultural exchanges in each show. Secondly, many thanks to Chef Klae Somsuay from Baan Thai Restaurant, The Oberoi Grand Kolkata, for representing Thailand in the Thai Festival show on similarities and differences between Thai and Bengali food, along with Miss Poorna Banerjee who represented Indian (Bengali) food. Thirdly, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata thanks its Thai interviewees, namely Mr. Phubast (Poo) Chesdmethee, Vice-President (Asia-Pacific), World Flower Council (WFC) and Owner, Malaiwan Florist Shop, and Mr. Tul Chompaisal, PHKA Studio, Bangkok, for insights and useful information and tips on Thai floral decoration and floral cultivation industries in Indian and global contexts and through COVID-19 challenges. The Consulate-General wishes to also to thank Dr.Surat Jongda, Assistant Rector, Bunditpatanasilpa Institute, Bangkok, for providing the audience with rich historical context of the Thai-Indian relations.

Royal Thai Consulate-General, Kolkata,

30 December 2021