New Delhi, Jan. 27 -- More than three decades ago, the legendary Warren Buffett returned a call to a fact-checker, explaining what he meant when he used the term "elephant-bumping affairs." Buffett was gently deriding talkathons such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) and CEO summits hosted by business magazines.

I was then working for Fortune magazine in New York and was the fact-checker Buffett called. I couldn't help smiling as he remarked that these summits were where large egos went to bump into others of their tribe.

That early lesson from a man who was a role model of self-deprecating humility for me made me sceptical of Davos, where the WEF holds its annual huddle. This was only heightened when I attended the WEF's satellite summ...