(From top) Mahendra K Jalan, honorary consul of France and wife Shashi Prabha present a trophy to R Ashok Kumar, authorised representative of Dr M A M Ramaswamy at The French Cup 2006 at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club; Jalan at the French National Day celebrations at the Oberoi Grand; Ravi Poddar, honorary consul of Portugal is all smiles in his office; Aloke Mookherjea, honorary consul of Sweden strikes a pose in his office

It was an action-packed day for Aloke Mookherjea, the honorary consul of Sweden in Calcutta. One morning a young Swedish woman was found unconscious on a city street and quickly taken to the nearest government hospital. She didn’t recover consciousness for one whole day, so Mookherjea on his own initiative had her moved to an expensive nursing home. It was probably just as well. The young woman turned out to the daughter of one of Sweden’s richest men who sent out a private jet with doctors on board to take her back home.

Who says it’s all caviar and champagne on the diplomatic circuit? Certainly not Calcutta’s finest who insist they all have to work to earn their minor diplomatic privileges. Today, there are 44 honorary consuls in the city. Some represent powerful, wealthy countries like Sweden, France and Canada. Others do their bit on the diplomatic circuit for pin-sized states and islands or distant countries like Chile.

Everyone knows what full-time diplomats like US Ambassador David Mulford do for a living. But what role do the honorary consuls perform in far-flung outposts that are deemed not worth full-time diplomatic representation? Is it just a title that carries a bit of prestige and the privilege of putting diplomatic plates on your car?

The answer is that this group ? almost all businessmen ? certainly aren’t doing a 24/7 job for the country they represent but they do end up performing a gamut of tasks that they never bargained for when they got into the diplomatic game.

Look at Dr Abhijit Sen, Sri Lanka’s honorary consul. Sen often has to do his bit for the island nation by bailing out Sri Lankan fishermen who’ve strayed too far into Indian territorial waters. “Sometimes Lankan fishermen stray into Bengal waters because of the tide. In those cases, I have to arrange for their bail,” says Sen who looks upon this task as one of the hazards of the job. Sen is the chief of Sen Investment and a former managing director of Nicco Industries.

Mahendra K Jalan, France’s honorary consul doesn’t have to deal with fishermen who’ve floated in with the tide. But he does find himself sorting out petty problems that land on his plate like the case of the French tourist who refused to pay his hotel bill. Says Jalan, who is also the chairman, Keventer Agro, “I called up the embassy to make arrangements for money.”

Why do countries appoint honorary consuls in places like Calcutta? “The main duty of an honorary consul is to protect the interests of the citizen of the country he represents. Along with this, he has to promote economic, commercial and cultural relations,” says Satish Kapur, director, Consular Corps, and the honorary consul of Finland in Calcutta. Kapur is the chief of Mahadev Paper Corporation.

The Belgian government, which has the distinction of having a woman, Jayasree Mohta, as its representative in the city, puts it differently. A Belgian government document states: “The title of Honorary Consul is an honorary title. Their main function is to promote the economic and commercial relations between Belgium and the country concerned.”

Inevitably, since that’s the case, the countries look out for prominent citizens like Harsh Neotia (Israel), Mohta, Jalan or Sanjeev Goenka (who’s the consul for Canada). The only two women consuls are Mohta and her sister Manjushree Khaitan who represents Austria (they are B K Birla’s daughters). At a slightly different level, Mookherjea works for Swedish engineering giant ABB and has been associated with Swedish companies for almost all his working life.

The bulk of their work is, however, conducted at a social level and can range from business promotion to cultural events. So, that’s how Poland’s consul R S Goenka found himself presenting a medallion and citation to Vishwa-Bharati University in honour of Rabindranath Tagore last year. “Tagore briefly visited Poland on his way back from Moscow and he is considered a friend of Poland,” says Goenka, who is also the joint chairman, Emami Group.

However, Goenka admits that there isn’t much trade promotion being done currently because Poland is focusing all its attention on integration into the European Union. “But I am hopeful that with the passage of time we will witness closer economic cooperation between Poland and India,” he says. Similarly Partha Sadhan Bose, Slovakia’s honorary consul adds, “Slovakia is a small country, so there’s not much trade activity here. The main work is done by the embassy in New Delhi.”

Most honorary consuls admit that they don’t have daily duties, though there’s always a lot of correspondence to keep up with. Most have a few staffers to look after the nitty-gritty. “There’s no work on a daily basis. Maybe two or three hours are enough to clear e-mails, answer phone calls and recommend visa applications,” says Ravi Poddar, honorary consul of Portugal.

Satish Kapur (top), honorary consul of Finland and director, Consular Corps; Kapoor (above) and others at the Navision Invitational Golf Tournament at the Tollygunge Club in 2002, sponsored by the Consular Corps

Poddar, the chief of Ravi Auto, reckons that a key task is ‘information flow’. “I have to basically keep Portugal informed about West Bengal. We regularly send them newspaper clippings.”

The bigger countries, inevitably, have stronger links and there’s always a buzz of social activity. There has always been a strong demand for French art, cinema and literature in this city and this has been catered to by the French Association (previously known as the Alliance Francaise).

So it’s not surprising that cultural activities keep Jalan busy for France. And he also gets a steady stream of business delegations scouting for the possibility of doing business. He also hosted a high-powered team of 25 French senators who came to examine the investment climate in the state. More recently a senior team from the food processing industry came to check out prospects in Bengal and eastern India and to meet their Indian counterparts. Jalan even gave a speech in the French Senate soon after taking over his job in 2003.

Inevitably, the honorary consuls are also flooded by a stream of queries about visas ? both from Indians wanting to travel abroad and from nationals of other countries in India. And Poddar also has to field constant inquiries from Bangladesh because Portugal doesn’t have an embassy in that country. Honorary consuls can’t issue visas but they frequently recommend people to their respective embassies in New Delhi. “There’s a huge demand for visas to France. I personally conduct these interviews and forward the names to my office in the Capital,” says Jalan.

Mookherjea had slightly more authority in the old days. “Before the Schengen era, all types of visas, including residence permits, were issued by my office. This was an exception at that time. But things have changed after Schengen. Now we offer temporary passports and other documents,” says Mookherjea.

Visas nevertheless are not the only enquiries that keep the phones ringing in consular offices. Attending distress calls is a part of the daily chores of the staff. “Sometimes people land up without a clue and then start making frantic calls for money,” says Jalan.

But how do they land these jobs? Sen had business links with Sri Lanka that stretched back a long way and he has been on scores of trade delegations to the country. In fact, it was during one of his trips to Sri Lanka that he was asked to represent the country. “During one visit I was approached by the Sri Lankan government to represent their country in Calcutta.”

Others, inevitably, have done heavy networking to land the title. Depending on the spending power, honorary consuls throw parties as a soft promotion of the country. Independence or national days are also celebrated with great fervour and invitations are sent out to the city’s Who’s Who. But Kapur insists that non-stop partying is not a necessary part of the job. “Spending money on national days is a matter for each individual and it is not absolutely necessary for an honorary consul to host national days. However, there are some countries, which have a budget and they may ask the honorary consuls to organise such functions as a PR exercise to promote their country for tourism or business.”

Also there are delegations that are travelling here to meet Calcutta’s decision-makers. Adds Kapur, “There are occasions when certain delegations visit this part of the country and it becomes necessary for them to interact with government officials, the business community and academicians. Under these circumstances, embassies request the honorary consuls to organise get-togethers.”

Poddar makes it a point to celebrate Portugal’s National Day on June 10. “It’s part of my duty to promote Portugal here,” he says. Similarly, French National Day is celebrated in great style on July 14. But Sen insists on doing it differently for Sri Lanka. “For me it’s a quiet occasion at the Mahabodhi Society Hall where we offer prayers at the altar of Lord Buddha on Sri Lanka’s National Day,” he says.

Everyone stresses that the job does not bring any monetary benefits or perks. But they are allowed two cars with CC (Consular Corps) plates and they have access into certain parts of the airports in order to fulfill their jobs. “You get social recognition and maybe an invitation to Governor House on occasions like Independence Day.” Then, with a smile: “You can also park your car in a no-parking zone by virtue of your consular status, but that does not mean honorary consuls violate parking rules,” says Sen.

Also, there’s no immunity from state punishment either ? as people often believe. Says Goenka, “The number plates don’t absolve us from any traffic violations.” Most importantly he points out, “The section of the Geneva Convention dealing with the privileges and immunities of diplomats are meant exclusively for career diplomats.”

In fact, the honorary consuls usually end up shelling out from their own pockets for most expenses, though some countries give allowances for items such as stationery. But being an honorary consul is a job that carries a lot of status and that’s a small price to pay.

Photographs of Ravi Poddar and Aloke Mookherjea by Subhendu Chaki