Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) The fourth edition of the Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week 2010 Oct 22-31 began here Friday.

The Embassy of Sweden is simultaneously celebrating the commemorative week in six locations — Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and New Delhi– across the country.

“Alfred Nobel was one of the greatest innovators that the world seen and for Sweden, he was one of the smartest and most hard-working businessman who made his innovations commercially viable. At a time, when business was a difficult prospect marked by absence of networking, mobility and poor transportation, Alfred Nobel took his frontline technology across the country. He travelled from one place to another to see his companies grow. He had a fair idea about the market,” ambassador of Sweden Lars-Olof Lindgren told IANS here.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel (Oct 21, 1833 to Dec 10, 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator and armaments manufacturer.

“In the spirit of the great personality, we have brought to India knowledge of technology and energy, food, art and Swedish culture - including a showcase of Swedish innovations and an interactive session with a Nobel citation painter,” Lindgren said.

The festival opened with a Swedish Food Festival which offered guests a la carte Swedish spread prepared by chef Mark Phoenix at Olive Beach restaurant here. The feast included traditional Swedish delicacies like sill, gravlax, skegenrora and kottbullar.

Phoenix is a member of the Nobel Committee that decides on the Nobel banquet menu with recipes from the inaugural 1901 Nobel banquet.

The week-long festival will bring the legacy of the Nobel Prize, the world’s highest civilian honour, in concert with the theme for 2010, “Innovating for Good”.

Like every year, the festival will culminate into a grand finale with a Swedish brunch at Olive Bar and special Nobel dinner at the embassy.