India’s Latvian connection

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India's Latvian connection

 

Baltic societies, whose folklore is very similar, seem eager to

forge new ties

SUBHASH AGRAWAL

Posted online: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 at 0000 hours IST

"Latvian scholars have, for the past century, been slowly

rediscovering their pre-Christian faith and ancient texts, which

include a collection of mythologies and folklore that bear starting

similarity to Vedic culture. One of the most precious of these texts

is 20 volumes of four-line verses, called dainas, that contain

spiritual wisdom on life's every aspect. The dainas also speak of

the worship of sun, fire and nature, and they refer to a pantheon of

deities, including Laima, the bearer of good fortune, which sounds

very similar to the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi."

 

Linguistically, Latvian is considered among the oldest of all Indo-

European languages, and a fair sprinkling of Hindi-sounding names

and words have survived. The President's daughter's name is

Indra.

 

 

Vaira Vike-Freiberga is not a name that triggers instant

recognition or connection, either in India or in western nations, at

least in the mainstream media. But it is a sure bet that the world

will hear more and more about this formidable lady in coming months.

She is an expert in ethnology of international standing, the author

of several books, a passionate global campaigner against autocratic

rule, and was recently named as one of the 50 most powerful women in

the world. She is also the President of Latvia, one of the few women

heads of state in the male-dominated politics of eastern and central

Europe. She has relentlessly navigated Latvia towards a western

orbit. She is so highly trusted in her country that she would,

observers say, be voted back if only rules allowed her a third

successive term.

 

 

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If all this were not enough, she could also be the next UN secretary-

general. The Latvian president has not yet officially announced her

candidacy, but remains a serious contender. Despite all the talk

about Asia's turn at the top job, the fact is that the US has

already announced that it does not recognise the tradition of

geographic rotations.

 

But whether she succeeds Kofi Annan or not, it seems certain that

she will occupy public space in global affairs for many years. I met

her last week at an international conference, where she was one of

the main speakers and where she had already created a flutter with

her forthright language and passionate scholarship on global issues.

 

Vike-Freiberga was not really known in her own country till 1999,

when she was elected President. Before that, she was part of what

has often been called a diehard Latvian diaspora that has zealously

nourished the idea of a free and sovereign country. Following the

Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1944, her journeys took her to post-

war German refugee camps, Morocco and finally, Canada, where she

lived most of her life and became a reputed scholar in Latvian

mythology, history and identity. Her articles, essays and thoughts

are peppered with her early-childhood memory of fleeing the Red Army

and suffering through the appalling conditions and indignities of

German refugee camps.

 

She made history last year when, during a ceremony to commemorate

the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, she demanded that

Russia accept oral responsibility for the illegal occupation of

Latvia. But other than on the topic of Russia, she displays a

profound sense of optimism in the inherent goodness of humanity.

When I remarked about the many pressing global problems listed on

the schedule of the conference we were both attending, she remarked

that humanity is much stronger than we think, and we need faith in

ourselves.

 

The topic of relations between Latvia and India naturally came up.

Overall, the trend is positive but unexciting. Bilateral trade and

tourism are small, largely because neither country has a diplomatic

presence in the other. However, and as a precursor to establishing

its own embassy in India, Latvia has recently concluded a deal with

Sweden to have a Latvian diplomat in the Swedish embassy in Delhi.

 

But the real interesting link is historical. Latvian scholars have,

for the past century, been slowly rediscovering their pre-Christian

faith and ancient texts, which include a collection of mythologies

and folklore that bear starting similarity to Vedic culture. One of

the most precious of these texts is 20 volumes of four-line verses,

called dainas, that contain spiritual wisdom on life's every aspect.

The dainas also speak of the worship of sun, fire and nature, and

they refer to a pantheon of deities, including Laima, the bearer of

good fortune, which sounds very similar to the Hindu goddess,

Lakshmi.

 

Linguistically, Latvian is considered among the oldest of all Indo-

European languages, and a fair sprinkling of Hindi-sounding names

and words have survived. The President's daughter's name is Indra.

 

Given this background, I thought I could take my chances with a

tongue-in-cheek question: When are you coming home, Madame

President? Insteadof the usual diplomatic reply, she looked at me

straight in the eye and said, "Anytime. I am simply waiting to be

invited." I hope our external affairs people are reading this.

 

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=133469