A while later, the plane arrived. They kept us in suspense for about 15 minutes before Modi got out. He was welcomed by a Swedish military parade that marched onto the tarmac earlier, and they stood in respect as the national anthems of both India and Sweden were played. From there, he got into an armored car followed by a convoy of 6 cars.

The front of the convoy is shown. PM Modi was not transported in a Volvo. 

After the arrival, we made our way to the city center. It was extremely odd that we were the only two Indians in the area who were dressed in suits, rather than the numerous others who were dressed in far more traditional Indian clothing, such as Kurtas or Saaris, waiting for an opportunity to cheer or see the Indian Prime Minister. We definitely got some strange looks there.

The flags next to Vasa Kronan were changed to also have the Indian flag. Sidenote: we were also given weird looks by Norwegians in Gothenburg, as it was the Norwegian national day. 

At 18:30, the conference started in the press room on the ground floor. Three pedestals were placed with flags behind them: India, EU, and Sweden. In that one room, us two high school students were there listening to 3 world leaders. President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. Here, they talked about the various aspects of the deal that has been signed. 

The deal included: an aim to double bilateral trade between the India and the EU by 2030, joint India-EU maritime security efforts, information sharing in relation to national and global security, joint anti-terrorism task force, joint innovation partnership, AI security, the green transition, and a joint space program which will collaborate on an instrument that will be a part of the Venus orbiter mission. This deal is estimated to create about 23,000 new jobs in Sweden, with about 6,000 of them being in Gothenburg. 

Not only is this the title of Michiko Aoyama’s wonderful book, it is also a statement that encapsulates the role of libraries – to preserve and provide us with knowledge. Let me take you on an odyssey of the evolution of these metropolises of knowledge and culture. 

Throughout history, libraries have served as repositories of ideas and discoveries of civilisations. The first ones date back to the 7th century BCE in Babylon, present-day Iraq. It held a collection of 30,000 cuneiform clay tablets, which the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal guarded like a dragon over its treasure. Valuing documents for the power and status they gave the empire rather than for the knowledge they held would become a prevalent theme in the establishment of libraries in the centuries to come. 

The 3rd century saw the famous library of Alexandria established by Ptolemy III. The library is believed to have held up to 700, 000 documents, collected from Greece, Persia, Egypt, and India, to name a few. Alas, Alexandria’s avidly amassed scrolls were lost in the civil war between Cleopatra and her brother in 48 BCE. Julius Caesar, who had sided with his alleged lover, made the fatal decision of setting fire to the enemy fleet in Alexandria. The fire spread to the library and reduced the collection to ashes. 

Out of the ashes, however, libraries rose all over the globe – from the Mayan and Aztec civilisations in the West to China in the East. Bayt al-Hikmah – House of Wisdom – was established in 83 CE in Baghdad and became famous in the Islamic world for its size. In Europe, documents were mainly kept in monasteries and in universities, reserved for scholars and clergy. 

Modern public libraries serve as metropolises for knowledge and cultures, just as in ancient times. Here, young and old come to satisfy their thirst for knowledge and to get questions answered in a calm, quiet space, sacred to knowledge-seeking. Libraries are also meeting places for people and host plenty of free events, ranging from book and movie clubs in different languages, art workshops, author talks, and concerts to knitting sessions while someone reads aloud, something the grandma in me is yearning to join.