‘Language gives us our identity’

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Sunday , March 16, 2008 at 0013 hrs Eric Weiner in his Geography of Bliss wonders what makes Iceland one of the happiest countries on earth. For a country that’s dark and extremely cold for nearly half the year and affectionately called the Ice-Cube, its people live by the credo ‘sunny-side up’. Last year the nation of just 3,00,000 people topped the UN’s human development index. Known for its scenic beauty — erupting volcanoes, hot-water springs, glaciers and of course, magnificent views of Aurora Borealis, it’s a traveller’s paradise. The European nation hit the headlines in the mid-eighties when its capital city Reykjavik hosted the Reagan-Gorbachev meeting (now being made into a film by Ridley Scott) and again in 2005 when it granted chess legend Bobby Fischer citizenship—- both events perhaps indicating its unique position in global geo-politics. The geographical distance between India and Iceland may be great, but the two nations have been growing closer otherwise, with the opening of Iceland’s embassy in New Delhi two years back. India too plans to set up its embassy in Reykjavik later this year. Quite a few Icelandic companies in the field of pharma, plastics and software have operations in India, with Reykjavik-based generic drug manufacturer Actavis employing more than 600 people in India. The island nation also has one of the largest fishing fleet in the world, with fish a staple in Icelandic cuisine through centuries. Banasree Purkayastha spoke with Iceland’s ambassador to India Gunnar Palsson about what makes the Ice-Cube one of the coolest places on earth, in more ways than one. Some excerpts:

A democracy for over a 1000 years

While India is the world’s largest democracy, Iceland claims to be the oldest one, having established its national legislature (Althingi) as early as 930 AD. Since we are a small country with a fairly homogenous population, our democratic institutions have not, of course, been tested by the kind of diversity that you have in India. Oldest democracy or not, I think Iceland stands to learn a great deal from the way India has been able to resolve differences and maintain its commitment to democracy.

Cultural links between India and Iceland

Tellingly, the first Icelander known to have visited India in 1615 was an observant linguist who wrote a glossary of the Tamil language. In 1939, an Icelandic medical student translated the Bhagavad Gita from Sanskrit. So, though we are geographically miles apart, we haven’t been closed books to each other. And, apart from the literary connection, Iceland’s favourite sport is chess, which is said to have originated from India. Also, yoga fascinates the fitness freak in Iceland.

Iceland’s different from the rest of Europe

What mainly distinguishes Icelandic culture from the rest of Europe and gives Icelanders a strong sense of identity is the language. We have practically retained the Old Norse spoken a 1,000 years ago. Iceland has a phenomenally high percentage of writers and poets. Our scribbler’s instincts were no doubt inherited from our Irish ancestors (it is sometimes said that Iceland was settled by Norwegian men and Irish women they brought with them). The sagas, written mostly in the 13th and 14th centuries, form the basis of our literary heritageto this day.

Relevance of India for Iceland

India is highly relevant to Iceland and not only for its phenomenal economic potential. Should Iceland be successful in its bid for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council next fall, we would want to listen carefully to the voice of India. While many of my countrymen know about India’s economic potential and cultural richness, they are baffled by India’s vastness and complexity. I tell them that India cannot be described — they need to come here and see it with their own eyes. We are planning to have an Icelandic film festival later this year in India and are organising exhibits of Icelandic photographs and paintings. Also on the anvil is introduction of works by Icelandic writers to Indian audiences. People like the Icelandic writer Halldor Laxness, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1955, and the singer-songwriter Bjork, I think would be appreciated by Indians. Young audiences in India would appreciate music groups like Sugar Cube and others.

A hydrogen fuel-based transport system by 2050 Iceland is pushing hard to become the first nation to break free from the constraints of fossil fuel. Already 70% of volcanic Iceland’s energy requirement is fulfilled by renewable sources. We are now looking at the viability of having hydrogen-powered fishing fleets.

The University of Iceland recently entered into an agreement with The Energy Research Institute (Teri) for research in environmental science and energy.