By Manish Chand,
Helsinki (Finland), July 10 (IANS) India is the flavour of the season in Europe and the Finns have been quick to tune into the growing buzz about this "colourful and confusing" Asian country that is being hailed as an emerging player on the global stage.

Exotic myth-making about India is giving way to the image of a paradoxical and economically resurgent nation that has emerged as an IT and outsourcing hub and is showing the world what knowledge societies can accomplish.

"The world is becoming globally competitive with the emergence of India and China as leading economic and political players," Jorma Ollila, chief executive officer of Nokia, told a group of visiting Indian and European journalists recently.

The setting up of a factory by Nokia, a world leader in mobile communications, in the southern metropolis of Chennai, has also tickled the curiosity of the Finns about this populous democracy.

The fifty-odd Finnish companies, including Nokia, employ over 4,000 Indians.

"Colourful and confusing, hectic and exotic, splendidly luxurious and desperately poor: Finland's new destination is full of contrasts, but it is at the vanguard of development in the world's most populous democracy," says the lead article in FinnAir's in-flight magazine entitled 'New Delhi, New India.'

To cash in on the growing India fever among the Finns, Finnair is introducing non-stop flights from here to New Delhi to give the Finns an escape from the excruciating winter and an experience of 'New India,' starting Oct 30.

The flights from Helsinki to New Delhi - the first direct connection from northern Europe to India - will operate thrice a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and cover the distance in six hours and 30 minutes.

The return flights from New Delhi to Helsinki (thrice a week) will give Indians a direct connection to the country of the midnight sun famed for its serene lakes and becalming saunas on the one hand and its sense of flawless design and technology on the other.

"I love this new India. There is something there for everyone. It stimulates my creative instincts," Maarit Kontiainen, alias Meenakshi (her Indian name), told IANS.

Sitting at her stall in the harbour mart, a proud Maarit, an artist who loves travelling to India almost every summer, flaunted some of the sketches she did on her trips to Mumbai and Delhi over the years.

The Finnish capital will host the India-EU summit in October this year. Cementing the burgeoning relationship between the 25-nation European Union (EU) and India is high on the priority list of the Finnish presidency of the EU (that kicked off here July 1), said Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen on the eve of assuming the EU's presidency.

"So far it was China that was dominating the headlines. But now everyone is talking about India. There is a new respect for Indian technology and its culture," says Saara Rimon, a manager with Finnfacts, an independent media company.

"India is the flavour of the season in Finland. The Finns are curious to know more and more about this country of mind-boggling cultural diversity that is seen as an emerging player on the global stage," an Indian diplomat, who did not wish to be named, told IANS.

The Indian embassy issues 200-300 visas to the Finns every day in the peak season, sources told IANS.