The Hindu Business Line : Prized visit

What's the connection between the back of an armchair and a Nobel Laureate? There is one, believe me! Nobel Prize winners arriving in the Swedish Capital, Stockholm, to collect their award are taken to the Nobel Museum where they have to sign on the back of an armchair, as the museum has no guestbook! It all began after the then US President Bill Clinton asked for the guestbook and, not having one, the organisers offered a chair and a white pen instead.

The chair and a few other added items of furniture are only offered to select visitors — heads of State, Nobel laureates and their children. The only grandchild granted the honour was Marie Curie's granddaughter, and no one complained — after all, her family has no less than five Nobel prizes in its kitty!

My wife Madhavi and I reached Stockholm on the last leg of our Scandinavian tour, and the Nobel Museum topped our agenda. It is housed in a not-very-impressive building in the heart of Stockholm's old town, quite close to the Royal Palace. It is only when you go inside that the sheer atmosphere of unadulterated genius hits you.

Ramendra Kumar

The Nobel Museum

The most fascinating feature of the museum is the cableway right behind the information desk. The portraits and profiles of more than 800 Nobel Prize winners move along on this unique cableway hanging from the ceiling. It would take three hours to view the entire collection!

You can also watch short films showcasing past winners, the creative milieu in which some of them worked, news clips and artefacts. The gold medal, the citation, Alfred Nobel's last will, pictures, his death mask and several other attractions are guaranteed to hold visitors in thrall.

‘Nobel' trivia

As we were taken on a conducted tour, the guide reeled out several Nobel trivia: Hitler and Lenin being nominated for the Peace Prize, Sartre first rejecting, then asking and finally being refused the prize and so on.

When I expressed my disappointment at Mahatma Gandhi being overlooked for the Peace Prize, the guide immediately replied: “They were to give him the prize in 1948, but unfortunately he passed away before that… the year in which he was nominated, they did not award the Peace Prize to anyone as a mark of respect.”

At the Museum Shop, we picked up a couple of souvenirs and a chocolate-coloured replica of the gold medal.

Stockholm stopovers

After our experience at the Nobel Museum, the Royal Palace and its change of guard were a letdown. The palace was no different from the many others across Scandinavian countries and, if you've seen one change of guard, you've seen them all!

Ramendra Kumar

Salvaged ancient ship Vasa, now a museum

We took a hop-on, hop-off bus — one of the most economical means of transport in Scandinavia — to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa ship was commissioned by the King of Sweden when he was fighting a war in Poland. It set sail in 1628 and sank after covering less than a nautical mile. It was salvaged more than three centuries later in April 1961 and painstakingly put together bit by bit. The Vasa Museum proudly displays the ship exactly as it was when it first set sail. The sails, seals, armaments, decoration pieces, sculptures and other art work were replicated to recreate the structure. The Swedes are rather proud of their success in recreating the ship. As for its failed maiden voyage in the distant past, the Swedes are only too ready to point out that the ship's architect was Dutch and its captain Danish!

Next on our cards was an archipelago tour of more than 40 islands. The steamer took us around the picturesque islands, one of which was in fact smaller than a cruise ship! We were told that the islands are owned by bankers, architects, businessmen, showbiz personalities, rock bands and sports stars.

“The island to your left is owned by Bjorn Borg,” our guide pointed.

“Does he live there?” I asked eagerly, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sporting legend.

“No, he is busy selling underwear in some other part of the world,” our guide deadpanned.

Opposite the National Theatre was an exhibition by the famous Swedish photographer Anders Ryman called Rites of Life featuring the coming-of-age or initiation rites in different parts of the world. Ryman was interacting with the visitors and he quizzed me in detail on the cultural aspects of the subcontinent. The exhibition included images of mass cremations in Varanasi.

The old town

We returned to the old town and its narrow lanes dwarfed by huge buildings, cobbled pathways (typical of Scandinavia) lined with shops, cafés and restaurants, and an unhurried ambience of gentility and peace… time seems to stand still here. .

We called it a day with dinner at Garam Masala, an Indian restaurant, and then indulged in the luxury of taking a taxi to our hotel. But there was more taste of home in store for us. Our taxi-driver turned out to be a Kurd who was crazy about Hindi movies. He knew actors Kareena, Karishma, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. “The first time I saw Saif, I knew he was Sharmila's son,” he declared.

Ramendra Kumar

Nobel gold!

On our request, he regaled us with songs such as Mere Sapnon ki Raani and Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai in his Kurdish Hindi!