Breaking the Ice

What can an insignificant piece of ice tell us? Here's how the life and

destiny of three nations was shaped by different reactions to a simple lump

of ice.

FIRST, Japan. If you think that the runaway success of Japan is an entirely post-World

War Il phenomenon, you're dead wrong. Japan began its journey from the 1850s onwards

after making a conscious decision, alone among all Asian nations, that it lacked

something which the Western world had, namely, modern science and technology. In

1860, after 200 years of total isolation, the first Japanese delegation set sail via the

Pacific for the US. In San Francisco, a small group of these samurai-diplomats was

invited to a cocktail party at which they were served champagne with ice in it. They had

never before seen manufactured ice in summer. Some spat it out, some choked on it and

others got it down their throats with great difficulty. Today, we reflect that Japan

produces some of the finest refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment in the whole

world. They had learned their lesson well.

In the 1800s, the United States itself was on a great learning curve. It was ceasing to be

only a land of farming and was turning increasingly to machines. Frederick Tudor was a

small Boston businessman. All he did was to conceive of the idea of manufacturing ice in

uniform blocks, insulating it with sawdust and organizing its transport. A simple but

revolutionary idea for its time. Icemaking became a national industry having a major

effect on the American diet. "The ice industry symbolized the human effort to achieve

mastery over the climate, to manipulate it according to human priorities... it meant a new

degree of specialization in (meat) and foodstuffs production together with regional and

even national marketing." (Richard D. Brown)

Also international marketing! Did you know that one of the earliest exports from the

US to India and neighbouring countries (ports of Bombay, Calcutta, Madras Colombo)

was ice? Sometimes the ice itself was used to keep apples fresh during the voyage. The

"coolies" in Bombay had seen apples before of course but were alarmed by the ice which,

they said, "scalded" their backs. 'Sir Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy served ice at parties in his city

home on Mumbai's D N Road, where Handloom House until recently used to be! This

was in 1835 - a full 25 years before the Japanese laid eyes on ice. But the revolutionary

transformative effect of modern science and technology was not recognized.

It is still not recognized. Our Prime Ministers regularly pay visits to Japan. After one

such visit, the Times of India headline summed it up with: "We have the will, show us

the way!". Mr. Prime Minister, Sir, there is no need to be shown the way. It is writ large,

it is all around you and it's there for the asking. With it and with it alone, you have the

power of transforming our poor, unhappy country into, like Japan, one of the richest nation in the world.