ALVDAL, NORWAY, September 11, 2017 (Ostlendingen, Google translation from Norwegian): It’s been 100 years since the Indian philosopher, poet and sage Swami Sri Ananda Acharya, known locally as Baral, came to Alvdal and settled down at Tronsvangen. On Saturday evening, September 16, this anniversary is celebrated with two and a half hours of musical and artistic celebration in the Alvdal community house. The community center has space for 400 people, and the main organizer, Swami Sri Ananda Acharya Foundation, hopes for a large attendance.
Baral was a sannyasin and yogi. He came to the West with a call to teach Indian philosophy and wisdom of peace. First, he was two years in London, where he taught Indian philosophy both privately and publicly. There he also translated two books of old classical Sanskrit literature into English. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he came to Norway. Here he held a series of lectures on Indian philosophy at the University of Kristiania in the spring of 1915 and the University of Stockholm in 1916. After five years in European metropolitan areas, Baral was tired of urban life and sought a permanent residence in the Norwegian countryside. This led him to Lille Elvedal, later Alvdal, on September 28, 1917. Here he bought a small farm with an old guest house on Tronsvangen. Baral stayed at Tronsvangen for the rest of his life.