‘Denmark can take inspiration from India’s vegetarian food habits’

PANAJI: Denmark can learn from India’s societal and family system, besides taking inspiration from its vegetarian food habits, said director of Danish cultural institute of India, Thomas Sehested.
The diplomat is in Goa for, ‘Evolving/Eroding’, a collaborative exhibition by Indian and Danish art photographers at the Museum of Goa (MoG), Pilerne. Sehested also hinted at Goa’s role in furthering diplomatic relations between the two nations through culture and cuisine.
“Denmark has a lot to learn from India and we believe that we have some ideas that might be of interest to Indians, as well.One of the things we have to learn from India is its societal structure,” he said. He also said that India’s family structure and dietary habits are of much inspiration to the European nation.
“On a micro level India’s family structure has a lot of bearing. India is a very networked society compared to Denmark, which is more solitary in comparison. We have a lot to learn by being a little more holistic and taking care of each other. Also, we are basically a meat-eating country, but the young generation is quitting meat for animal welfare, climate concerns, etc. In 20 years’ time we will be a more vegetarian country. India is world class at creating vegetarian dishes. So, we have much to learn from India starting from the top to all the levels down,” he said.
What Denmark can offer India, he said, is a way to make efficient use of resources. “The reason why Danish design is world famous is because it is process driven. India needs a more process driven thinking but sometimes things are so fast-paced in India that you tend to forget the process and directly deliver the output. You cannot have a good result this way,” he said.
He also stressed on the need for Goa to revive its agriculture and capitalize on this to open doors for constructive tourism.
“Goa imports a lot of food despite having prime agricultural land. There are rice varieties and vegetable produce that are not found in other parts of India. Goa is about to lose part of its food heritage. But if you took inspiration from Denmark, wherein a small island in the Baltic sea has used food culture as a way of getting attention, it could be a huge driver in Goa because you have a solution and the tradition, but you only need to reinvent it,” he said. Denmark is open to collaborate with Goa to hold food festivals or cultural exhibitions, he said.