It has been a decade since i have been organising tours for Norwegians, building relation between India and Norway , whether for school students or a community of a society. Like before its repeating again , and even some guests have started liking India so much that they have visited again and again , going to Taj Mahal again capturing more of its beauty in their Camera’s and Heart as well.
Mr.Erlin and Mrs Towe Lonne are one of those lovely people who have inspired many a people to come to India and explore it and witness the beauty and the depth in culture of our India. Mr. Erlin being a music teacher has always came with his Violin and other instruments to India and had always entertained us to the fullest , obviously a bonus for us.
Like they have entertained us , same way we have tried our best to bring in the colours of our Culture and what could be better than a warm welcome in our traditional style.
Sometimes i wonder how come these Norwegian’s have so much of stamina , Mrs.Towe , when her age is nearing 60 , official age of retirement in India , she works whole year except in months of December to February when its in negative degree in Norway and heaps of snow is laiden all over and thats the best time she chooses to come to India.
She makes soft toys , candles and variety of things specially for Kids , still one masterpiece made by her hangs in my drawing room and one more gift arrived from a cold country though their gift expresses the warmth of their heart , name of my company in different colours placed on a copper plate , its been already gone for a frame.
Every year we plan a dinner with the Norwegians , and the easiest part in whole arrangement is choosing the venue , my roof top restaurant , though its functional for very limited days in a year.
Their arrival day had seen some drizzle in Delhi , and it was getting chilly. Trust me i have seen Norwegians shivering , though they come from a place where temperature compared to Delhi is much lower and cold but the chill breeze of Delhi had made them shiver and i have witnessed this from my own eyes.
Now i have gained some experience in handling these things , wood was ready to catch the fire and invite her guest to keep them warm.
In the morning when i met him , his first question to me was ” So its been a year and i hope you are still married to same girl ” , dont take it wrong , i know Mr.Erlin very well now and i know how jovial that guy is. In morning only he had told me that i have come with all preparation and my instruments are to blow.
We had a glimpse of Mr.Erlin’s music,his violin on his previous visits but Mrs.Towe coming with her instrument , an Accordian was a surprise for us. This time both of them were going to perform , and the best part was when they stood up and Dedicated the music to my just gone First Anniversary and whole group coming to me and wishing me belated Anniversary.
Both of them were now ready to play their music , and we were all set to enjoy. Kindly CLICK HERE to watch their video as due to some problem video didnt attached here.
It was something special , specially the Accordian played by Mrs.Towe , i still remember i have seen our legendary actor Raj Kapoor playing Accordian in some of his songs , though he used a bigger one.
No party is complete without a relishing food , obeying the situation and the rule our arrangements were all going right on the mark. I think paneer tikka has become a favourite for both India and Norway , they loved it and to add the charm Four Seasons Red wine , white wine and rose wine were on the bar at their disposal and we were happy that they were enjoying it.
Time had flown so fast that nobody came to knew when Dinner Time arrived. Now was the time to let them have the taste of Indian cuisine and menu was decided according to them , Dal Makhni , Shahi paneer , Mix veg and Palak Kofta with Onion Pulao and Butter Naan were on the table , served hot.
Though after some minutes we came to know that they were finding mix veg bit spicy according to their taste buds , but still they were enjoying it and some even repeated it. One hand bite the naan and use other to sip the wine and party goes on and on. wow.
After that bit of spicy mix veg now was the time to end the party with a desert , Pineapple cake was ready to be cut and Mrs Towe was given the honour to cut it. You can see her with her piece of cake in her hand, she was delighted and honoured.
But i would say this cake was less sweet than what followed it. We were nearing the end of the party , it was getting much much cold now and all were ready to leave. But Norwegians had something different in mind , they all stood again and announced ” Before leaving we all want to sing one song , its our National Anthem (Click Here) ” , both India and Norway respecting the Anthem of Norway , we all , my family stood up and they sung their anthem.
Party was over and time had arrived to board the bus to their Hotel. Now i am waiting for another group of mine to arrive from Norway , its not very far and i would be coming again with my blog.
