The occasion was the Indian ambassadorīs dinner for Kalam, a scientist of note himself, and his delegation here Sunday.

And to interact with them were gathered 20 Icelandic scientists with specialisations in subjects ranging from genetics and geophysics to fishery and anthropology.

The meeting, held in an informal atmosphere, took in the entire sweep of subjects the eclectic Kalam is capable of holding forth on, and the avuncular and erudite scientists engaged him in animated discussion.

But the weighty meeting soon took on a lighter note with a senior foreign service official singing Kalamīs favourite song "Ekla Chalo Re".

The scientists did not disappoint either. To the delight of the gathering, five of them stood up and burst into a popular Icelandic folk song.

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Icelandīs Indophile president

That Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson is an Indophile was well known. But the depth of his passion for India was on display at the joint press briefing he had with visiting Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam here Monday.

Saying that his love affair with India had begun some 20 years back and had survived several visits, Grimsoon waxed eloquent on the "vitality of human spirit" that has attracted him to the country.

Saying there was "human drama" everywhere in India, Grimsson said whether you were "in Rajasthan, on a street on Mumbai or in Pune" you can "always observe human colour and human drama".

He also took a small swipe at the Indian political establishment, saying that each time he had visited India "there was always a crisis in Indian politics" -- he was quick to add that this was inevitable in a "thriving democracy".

Grimsson also commented on what he described as the "New India" that is "confident, educated and globally strong".

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Praise for India's space agency

On an impulse during their bilateral meeting, Kalam showed his Icelandic counterpart a mapping of the Alps done by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s remote sensing satellite Cartosat-1.

Sent as an e-mail to the President by ISRO, Kalam had earlier presented it to his Swiss counterpart during his visit to that country before arriving here.

During their discussion, Kalam suddenly asked for his laptop and showed Iceland President Grimsson the mapping, impressing him.

As Grimsson later said, sitting in Iceland "we donīt think of these things (using satellites to map mountains)".

"Maybe we can have Icelandīs mountains also mapped," he said.