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ET@Davos 2026: Beyond the serious business, young turks go off the beaten track to chill
India's young and restless, including founders, frat boys and sorority girls — many of them Davos debutants — chose unique ways to connect, bond, mingle and confab at the World Economic Forum (WEF), while global leaders sought to rethink and reconfigure the world at Davos, the sleepy Swiss hamlet.
DAVOS: Late night Krishna bhajans on a snowy mountain top to seek salvation in sub-zero temperature; a pre-dinner collective meditation and manifestation session with a monk at the top of Hotel Schatzalp overlooking a valley, sweaty huddles on the padel court, impromptu decision to drive down to St Moritz – the uber chic ski retreat of the rich – “sleepover with the boys,” only to zip back 72 kilometres through the Vereina Tunnel to sign billion-dollar MoUs or prep for the ice polo jamboree this weekend with POTUS, India's young and the restless business founders, frat boys and sorority girls -- many of whom Davos debutants -- chose unique ways to connect, bond, mingle and confab in WEF while global leaders further polarised the world in this sleepy Swiss hamlet.
“The World Economic Forum was getting ‘Washington-ised on the main street' while we chose to be cool and found better ways to problem fixing,” quipped a 26-year old social entrepreneur, a first timer, sipping mulled wine from a roadside kiosk. Being sensitive to the unwritten code of Davos, the actors want to remain anonymous. “Whatever happened in Davos, stays here, right?”
Some of them returned enlightened; some were ecstatic, few got invigorated and turbo-charged for the next 12 months and beyond. Deal initiations, investments, business plans, bright ideas and backroom machinations all got hatched beyond the four walls of the Congress Centre or the bilateral meeting rooms in hotel suites, the conventional forums for two-martini power lunches and pow-wows. New contacts made, old ties got stronger while misunderstandings, broken bonds and missteps also got fixed. In the middle of the AI hyperbole, spiritual grounding became
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A notification pop on WhatsApp in one of the many Davos break out groups said - "sharing some alternative programming closer to eastern traditions and mind body spirit topics" It stood out as it was unlike any other message that was shared. Suckers for anti-patterns, a handful even clicked and registered immediately. “This turned out to be one of the most wholesome experiences I had at Davos this year,” said one who attended the Burning Mantra event, hosted indoors atop a snowy hill about 20 minutes outside of the city centre.
There were 40+ individuals from all countries who had gathered there with the singular intention “to chant the name of the Lord” while just kilometres away President Trump descended upon world leaders with a verbal broadside that drew both shock and nervous amusement. There were no introductions, no "what brings you here", no scanning of badges, said another attendee.
The event, hosted by Sacred Shell.org and attended by some Big tech poster boys from the Valley, started with a little introduction on how when you zoom out, we're actually in times of abundance and how the told is improving rapidly for the better and how important it is for people to be better together today more than ever. “When the present is difficult and the future unclear, it's what you do in the present that counts,” said one of the guests who doubled up as a musician as well. “In that moment, at that place, that's what we did. We gathered as one. Were present as one. Chanted together as one.”
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The sojourn at Schatzalp hotel was equally transcendental. It started with a funicular ride up the mountain with investors and family offices collectively managing trillions of dollars in assets and then – “Silence. Breath. Intention,” as a participant, an entrepreneur herself, described it. “Davos has a way of doing that.”
In a similar unicorn moment, a few young leaders connected with the chief of the Yuwanawa tribe from Acre, Brazil to “exchange and deepen life's purpose in Davos.” On a promotional tour for the World Ayahuasca Forum to be held in Girona Spain later in September, Nixiwaka Biraci Yawanawa is inviting global spiritual leaders to congregate. As one of them put it: “For us it was like Mother India lead us to Mother Earth. We talked quietly, exchanged stories of purpose and the importance of feminine energy for good positive change from both men and women in business and leadership. We also had third eye exchange and were still embracing our energies.”
Cutting across generations, such bonding also drove one of south India's most successful entrepreneurs to join a bigger bunch from his state who were having fun in neighbouring St Moritz. A night train allows one to take their car onto it and it travels through 25 km long tunnels and reaches the destination in little less than two hours. The gentleman, who was also hosting his friend, a movie legend, in between a spate of meetings with chief ministers, CEOs, global investors, loves “spontaneity.” According to one of his fellow industrialist friends, the two decided what better way to kill a few hours on a bitterly cold night than sipping the smoothest mezcal or malts with people they care about the most. “But mind you they were back in Davos the next noon to continue with their high powered interactions.”
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Big boys indeed play at night.
The younger ones also do so, but in a padel court. The country's richest podcaster-investor and a 2 AM friend for all, has always broken new grounds. He found a new one in Davos in Sporthalle Farbi -- a swish complex with tennis, padel, squash, pickle and padel ball and also a freestyle golf simulator. He was lucky as many of his close friends and fellow sports enthusiasts were also around. “What better way to end a tiring day of meetings than sweating it out on the padel court,” said one of those who got the invitation. On one day, they were facing investors from UAE, on another they were playing against each other. “It's not the golf course, not even tennis courts but padel is the in-crowd to-do sport,” said a long time Davos veteran who was equally amused when he learnt about this growing subculture at WEF.
But most are still under the spell of rapper, producer, entrepreneur and futurist will.i.am who joined the Stanford/MIT's Imagination in Action session, talking about how to stay human in a world increasingly shaped by AI. “What stayed with me was his take on creativity and unpredictability and his simple advice: be human, be messy, be unpredictable- confuse the models a little.”
It was funny, refreshing, and oddly grounding. Especially at a time when AI has once again taken over every conversation on the promenade.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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