|
|
|
July 28, 2002
REVIEW: Icelandic journeys
This book by Jamiluddin Aali is more a “Sareer-i-Khama” than a Safarnama. The reader will take up the book expecting to find some interesting information about the little known country Iceland. But he would be surprised to find a sudden change of subject from a travelogue to essays on subjects like “woman and womanhood”, “being and not being”, “friends and friendship”, and “loneliness” which are the author’s own reflections on some social issues rather than an account of his travels.
This abrupt diversion negatively affects the tempo of the travelogue, and also disrupts the continuity in his writing. Aali’s Sareer-i-Khama would very well make for another book.
But other than this, the travelogue itself makes interesting reading. Jamiluddin Aali, renowned for his dohas, has a light conversational style of writing which is well-suited for travelogues. Aali is a widely travelled man. In this book he provides the reader with plenty of information about a virtually unknown country. He does this in an unusual format: a dialogue with the common folk. Laced with his own witty comments, the account becomes very lively.
Two taxi drivers are his main source of information. One is a graduate planning to pursue higher studies, and the other a professor at the University. Despite their high educational qualifications, they did not consider it demeaning to work and earn as taxi drivers, during the semester breaks, rather than whiling their time away. This speaks volumes of the sense of dignity of labour that the Icelanders possess as a nation. No profession is regarded as inferior.
We learn that the land was originally inhabited by the Vikings from Norway, more than a thousand years ago, and came to be called ‘snaeland’ (or snowland) which later was changed to Iceland. Many years later, one Ingulf Ornersan (Aali chooses not to spell the name in English) migrated from Norway and settled there. He laid the foundations of the first ever democracy and the world’s oldest parliament was set up in 930 AD, more than 300 years before the Magna Carta came as a milestone in British democracy. The graduate very proudly announced that the Icelanders have no individuals or families ruling them. The parliament which they called Althing was the only ruling body, which exercised control through the laws framed by it.
Both the taxi drivers also happen to be very good guides. Accompanying the author — the graduate the first day and the professor after that— they take the reader on an exciting journey through one of the smallest nation of the world, with a sparse population of 263,000 spread over an area of 60,000 square miles of snow covered volcanic land, with live volcanoes beneath. It is one of the coldest regions of the world where daylight stretches to about 24 hours in midsummer, and it is dark most of the time in December. In the interior the land is dotted with small geysers, with a very big one, squirting water to a height of several hundred feet, and reputed to have a temperature of many hundred degrees C . This is quite an unbelievable paradox — with the coldest coexisting with the hottest!
The reader is introduced to other amazing sights; sulphur hills surrounded by red hot ditches spouting fire; lakes full of millions of water ducks, with the largest number of species and breeds in the world; black flies hovering above like thick black clouds, and the largest glaciers in Europe.
The author had visited Iceland in 1978 and the book was published in December 2001. Many facts and figures given in the book are now outdated. For example the first taxi driver had identified the major export of the country to be fish and aluminium only. But any discerning reader would know that Iceland now also exports iron, dolomite and animal feed.
A serious problem the Icelanders faced then was the encroachment by foreign trawlers in Iceland’s fishing zone — a problem they face to-date. But under a treaty the Iceland government can apprehend the foreigners, take their pictures and send them back to their respective governments. The trawlers are fined and the compensation is paid to Iceland.
To the author’s query of how the governments accepted the authenticity of the pictures, the guide reacted strongly. He retorted sharply, “Why shouldn’t they believe us. They know we never tell lies.” What better illustration could there be of a nation’s character!
The most important project that has come up since the author’s visit is the one for pumping hot water from the geysers directly to over 85 per cent of the homes to keep the houses warm and for domestic use. The hot water is also used to heat greenhouses. Thus Iceland grows tomatoes and flowers round the year. Hot springs are used to produce power without pollution.
This travelogue is informative and educative. Literary discussions with Carl, whom the author met there, may be of special interest to people with literary tastes. They might also be interested in the details of the Sagas, which are based on mythical stories about invisible beings which form an inate part of the Icelanders’ heritage. Similarly, Aali’s free and frank conversations with the three Icelandic girls about the status of women and their social lives is also interesting.
The book is, however, marred by the author’s use of some words which, in our culture, are best avoided, even among very intimate friends.
Iceland: safarnama aur sareer-i-khama
By Jamiluddin Aali
Academy Baazyaft, Room 4, Urdu Centre, First Floor, Urdu Bazar, Karachi
Tel: 021-2634330
346pp. Rs300
|
|
|
|
