The Hindu Business Line : With warmth, from Iceland

‘Although Icelanders look at the world critically, I have come here to see India in a positive light, am collecting the positive aspects, seeing how life can be beautiful in spite of difficulties.’

Sashi Nair

Armann Reynisson, who calls himself entrepreneur-writer, can be credited with pioneering a new genre of writing in Iceland. Styled as vignettes or ‘contemporary sagas’, Reynisson’s simple, short tales resemble photographic portraits or character sketches. The stories reflect timeless Icelandic folklore traditions as well as today’s global interests. They are wonderfully evocative of a time or place. Some are humorous, others sad, many of them lyrical. The vignettes touch the reader, intrigue and amuse; they are sensitive, candid and bold.

Seven volumes of these vignettes have been published in Iceland the past seven years. Each book comprises 43 vignettes in original Icelandic and English translation (by Prof Martin S. Regal, University of Iceland).

Reynisson, whose life in some ways nearly resembles a fairytale, was born in Reykjavik in 1951 and studied at the London School of Economics.

Regarded as unorthodox and controversial by Icelanders, he once ran a number of companies and followed business practices that were common in other parts of the developed world but not in Iceland, which in the early 1980s was decades behind other European nations.

Things came to such a pass that Reynisson’s life lay in ruins and he was all but deprived of his human rights. He was dragged from one court hearing to another for five years and finally sentenced to a year’s imprisonment. Much later, those who hauled him over the coals realised that Reynisson had indeed been conducting his business affairs in a manner that was in line with ethical financial practices followed the world over; such practices are considered lawful in Iceland today.

Those five years of suffering brought about significant changes in his life and in his way of thinking. When things looked bleak, instead of throwing in the towel he meditated, exercised and explored nature. He found new insights into people and existence. In August 2000, the urge to express himself in writing finally led him to write the first vignette, about Iceland birds. One vignette led to another and many more.

Each of Reynisson’s books has sold about 3,000 copies in Iceland. There has been a lot of response to his books from Germany perhaps due to the traditional cultural links between the two countries. Many readers are keen to know what Reynisson has to say each year.

His books are available at the Esperanto Society in Iceland, Scandinavian House - New York, the London School of Economics, and the National Museums in Paris and Kolkata.

On a tour of India, he claims he the “first to write vignettes in Iceland’s 1,000-year history (the Vikings moved in then) of literature. I write from my heart, concentrate on my feelings, not on style. People either accept it or not; they say I am very different from other authors. I write about everything in life, a few from my life experiences. My grandparents and parents used to tell me stories. Storytelling is a tradition in Iceland and that is one thing we have in common — Icelanders and Indians. I find some of our stories so similar to your Jataka tales. You don’t find much of it in Europe or the United States.” All he knew about India before setting foot here was that it was the land of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. He had no idea of the number of states or languages in this country.

“It’s almost a miracle how you can run this country (as one). Each State is like a different country. I have enjoyed your hospitality. People here are warmer than those in Europe. Although Icelanders look at the world critically, I have come here to see India in a positive light, am collecting the positive aspects, seeing how life can be beautiful in spite of difficulties,” he says.

Reynisson plans to visit different countries, to break down walls wherever they exist, and to promote links between the West and the East. His Indian impressions, he says, will form part of his ninth book likely to be published in 2009.