Flora – a typical Norwegian village

Last weekend I got a chance to stay in at a typical Norwegian village. Flora is a tiny village amidst mountains and by the Fjord. This picture perfect town is a so beautiful! Inhabited by just 10,000 people the village is serene and quaint.

The town has one central street which is the main market and two parallel streets and that’s the expanse of the town! Despite the size and far off location it is not less developed or rural in that sense. The most impressive thing about Norway is that its development is equal. Whether it is a village of 10000 people or a commune of a few houses in the country side, the people are not deprived of any public facilities such as transport, health care, social security or even broad band internet for that matter.

Flora has its own domestic airport. This is more like airplane stop – like we say bus-stop! Just one counter for check in, very quick security check in a small room and from the other door you are out on the tarmac to board a small 40 seater plane. You can easily compare it with our ‘lal dabba ST’ which goes to remote villages. Just like the bus conductor knows all the passengers by name the air hostess knew her passengers. She was having small personal chat with each passenger. The passengers being from the same village knew each other. Inside the plane the environment was very homely where people were checking on each other as to how they were and probably talking about the usual business! Just like it happens in ST buses of our villages.

Fjords – the word is a gift by the Norwegians to the English language. Fjord is very central to the life of Norwegians, especially in the country side. Fjords – the specialty of Scandinavian geography – are the canals or inlets of sea water inside the mainland through the valleys of the surrounding mountains. Many towns are situated on the banks of the fjords or on the islands made by the fjords. Flora is one such island village. The wooden houses have their parquet floored wooden verandahs extended over the fjord waters. The café of the hotel I was staying in was on one such verandah. Below me, through the gaps in the wooden planks I could see the water, kind of scary! But not for the locals! They do not even have any parapet for safety. I wondered if any accidents happen when children play around or the drunkards quarrel!

Beyond the verandahs they have their boats parked in the water which they probably use for fishing. Some have other types of leisure boats too!

Despite being a village the traffic rules were as strict as the capital city of Oslo. No one dare drive without wearing a seat belt or in a drunken state. Pedestrians would cross the roads only using the zebra crossings.

In the evening we went out for a walk through the village. It was so nice to walk through the small streets, the small but tastefully done shops on either side. The beautiful window display in the shops, windows and balconies of the houses above were lined with flower beds. The windows of the Norwegian houses are so well done. You can notice the frill and satin of the canopies and the curtains tied on the sides and a candle stands, pot of a plant, a statue or such artifacts carefully displayed.

It was the special day for the people of Flora and it was a special day for us as well. The occasion was the visit of the Crown Prince and the Princes of Norway and we were the invitees! The mayor of Flora was to be felicitated by the Prince for outstanding performance of the community towards promotion of international friendship. The local school has a friendship tie up with a school in Malawi - one of the poorest African nations. The community also has tie ups with a municipal county from Lithuania – one of the poorest European nations. The village has supported many asylum seekers from Srilanka, Iraq, Pakistan etc. The Prince was to hand over a present to the mayor as a token of appreciation to motivate the villagers to continue the good work. We were invited to speak to the students in the schools and share experiences from our parts of the world.

The Prince was to arrive by a boat through the Fjord. The locals were out on the streets in their traditional attire to welcome the Prince. It was a rare opportunity for them. There was no threat to law and order. Very few policemen were just keeping an eye on the people no Major security precautions were needed. They say that the Prince is a very down to earth person and the Prices is not from any Royal background and is one of the average Norwegians. The society that believes in equality says that tomorrow if the Prince has to withdraw money from an ATM he would be expected to stand in the queue!

The function was held in the city hall – each town has its own! A usual sequence of speeches, performances by local talents, children’s dance on the theme of internation integrity etc. The only difference was the discipline. The event started dot on time. No crazy rush at the gate, no gate crashers everything as planned! And yes, I did not hear a single mobile phone ringing during the entire event!

The interaction with the students was an experience in itself ..watch this place for an article on that!

15 September 2006