Capital gets a taste of Norway

Smita Sharma

A patriotic spread of red and blue — from flags to ribbons —women wearing ‘bunad’ or folk costumes, videos of stunning landscapes on display and various reincarnations of salmon ordered specially from Norway.

The Norwegian National Day reception in Delhi gave a slight glimpse of the festivities back home to celebrate the country's constitution. The second-oldest constitution in the world was passed unanimously by the Eidsvoll Assembly on May 16, 1814, and signed the next day. This recognised Norway as a kingdom independent of Sweden following the Napoleonic Wars.

Norwegians proudly hail the celebrations as their reply to the Brazilian Carnival or the Irish Saint Patrick’s Day. For Indians, Republic Day celebrating the Constitution is marked by a spectacular military parade with defence forces marching down Rajpath.

In Norway, there is no military triumphalism on display. Visitors are greeted by tens of thousands of Norwegians and young children parading down streets in small and big cities and treating themselves to ice creams and hot dogs.

1870 saw the first children’s parade in then Christiania, now Oslo — the seat of the Nobel Peace Centre where India's Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yusufzai were jointly honoured with the prestigious prize in 2014.

Norwegian Ambassador Nils Ragnar Kamsvag hopes to enhance economic ties with India in which the popular Norwegian salmon could play a role.

Norway accounts for more than 60 per cent of the world’s Atlantic salmon exports with a turnover of more than $8 billion last year.

However it is yet to find a bigger share in the Indian market. “It is not a cheap fish. Also it has to move very quickly through customs, needs efficient cold storage chains. But now Norwegian salmon is increasingly available in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi,” says Kamsvag as he recalls that during his posting in China two decades bacl, Norwegian salmon was available because of solid logistical and infrastructure facilities.

As of now the European Union, Russia, US are important destinations for the Norwegian salmon, which has been imported and popularised majorly by the Japanese for their sushi specialties. 

Ambassador Kamsvag also hopes to promote tourism, music and literature both ways. He says Indian tourists are now looking at Norway as not just a summer escapade but also a winter destination. Norway also considers India an important partner on climate change and environmental issues with the two Prime Ministers at their recent meeting proposing a joint task force on oceanic cooperation and blue economy.

“Over 70 per cent of Norwegian exports come from the sea. We hope to work with India on ports development, combating marine pollution, shipping and better utilisation of Indian Ocean resources,” says the envoy. — TNS