Satis Shroff
Satis Shroff is a poet and writer based in Freiburg (poems, fiction, non-fiction) who also writes on ecological, ethno-medical, culture-ethnological themes. He has studied Zoology and Botany in Nepal, Medicine and Social Sciences in Germany and Creative Writing in Freiburg and the United Kingdom. He describes himself as a mediator between western and eastern cultures and sees his future as a writer and poet. Since literature is one of the most important means of cross-cultural learning, he is dedicated to promoting and creating awareness for Creative Writing and transcultural togetherness in his writings, and in preserving an attitude of Miteinander in this world. He lectures in Basle (Switzerland) and in Germany at the Akademie für medizinische Berufe (University Klinikum Freiburg) and the Zentrum für Schlüsselqualifikationen (University of Freiburg). Satis Shroff was awarded the German Academic Exchange Prize.
http://www.satisshroff.blogspot.com
Contact Information
Articles by Satis Shroff
October 22, 2009
Poet Satis Shroff writes in his Zeitgeistlyrik this time about the new recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature Ms. Herta Müller. Her sober lyrics and serious prose have not many admirers in the west but what she writes about is important to the literary world for she's a witness of our times.
September 29, 2009
Singing can be an enrichening experience no matter how old you are and where you live. Here's a writer from the Himalayas who sings German songs with his croonies in the Black Forest and gets a real kick out of it.
September 16, 2009
Satis Shroff pays his tribute to two world choreographs who have passed away, and who will be remembered in Wüppertal (Germany) and Kyoto(Japan).
September 05, 2009
Satis Shroff takes you for a walk along the Vosges, a wonderful area full of forests, hills, vineyards and excellent Alsatian wines, the place where Albert Schweizer grew up and the friendly people out there.A typical greeting in Alsace is: Salu(t)! Whereby the 't' is silent.
August 26, 2009
Satis Shroff takes you for a walk to the Vosges in Alsace where he went for a walk. It's a wonderful area and also known for its wines. Alöbert Schweizer came from Alsace. Discover the Alsatian scenery and wines with the author.
August 10, 2009
Satis Shroff describes further his Begegnungen with people along the trails on his way from the Gornergrat to the north of Switzerland and shares it with you.
August 10, 2009
Satis Shroff takes you to the world of Zermatt and the 4000 metre high Alps of Switzerland and shares his experiences of the sights and the people he meets in wonderful Switzerland, and how the Swiss run tourism in their country.
July 01, 2009
The King of Pop has left this world and what remains are the memories of his moondance, catchy rhythms and excellent songs which will be heard by generations to come.He was unique.We love you, Michael!
June 18, 2009
Satis Shroff presents books written by South Asian Writers pertaining to poverty, writing, poetry, short-stories and opens a window for authors and poets who don't belong to the American mainstream but whose works are excellent and need exposure in the west.
June 09, 2009
´I will not walk away,´
Said PM Gordon Brown.
His ministers had walked out on him.
Disgusted with his inner circle
Of soccer-fans
And other fads.
Manchester is United,
Labour isn´t.
Was he walking by a rule?
Mr. Brown ruled with two circles:
His soccer-crazy inne...
June 09, 2009
Gurkhas are the elite troops of the British Army and have fought for them since 200 years. At last they have been allowed to acquire British citizenships.It was a long fight for their rights in colonial and post-colonial Britain.
June 09, 2009
Prisident Obama made a short journey to Germany and visited Buchenwald for special reasons. He wanted to see for himself the place aboput which his great-uncle Payne had told him about.Satis Shroff goes beyong and brings to you the traumatic experiences that the holocaust survivors and their children and children's children still suffer from.The writer is for peace, tolerance, Miteinander (togetherness)in his poems, articles and writings.
May 29, 2009
Ein Zeitgeist Dichter aus dem Himalaya
Tell me something about yourself.
I teach Creative Writing at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg. http://www.zfs.uni-freiburg.de/zfs/dozent/lehrbeauftragte4/index_html/#shroff. I´m a lecturer, poet and writer and have published three books: Im ...
May 27, 2009
The Gurkhas are known for their military prowess and belong to the elite troops of Britain but the Ministry of Defence, and different shades of political parties,have been keen on postponing and delaying decisions on the hillmen from the Himalayas. All migrants from Britain's many former colonies were granted equal right when they were recognised as migrants.But the loyal Gurkhas who fought under the Union Jack for 200 years were brushed aside. Victoria Crosses, yes. The right to stay on in Britain, no. Satis Shroff is in tears now that the Gurkhas have been granted the permission to stay on in Britain. A boon for the ex-Nepalese servicemen and their dependants.Better 200 years later than never.
April 07, 2009
Satis Shroff is impressed by the beauty of the Black Forest where he lives since three decades and he shows you in his lyrics how marvellous the Schwarzwald is.
March 26, 2009
Goethe is Germny's literary giant and he loved to spend his holidays in the Thuringer forest at a place called Ilmenau, a lovely area where Goethe wrote his masterpieces. Satis Shroff takes you to the town of Ilmenau to Goethe's favourite places.He has translated Goethe's poem into Nepali (see image).
March 11, 2009
The British Gurkhas were deployed in the Falklands War, and they have fought England's battles all over for world for 200 years since the times of Queen Victoria, but they have been discriminated by the MoD and the rulers of the UK as far as integration in the British society, equal pay and equal rights were concerned, and even to this day. This article throws light into the matter.
March 11, 2009
Scheiben schlagen is a German term in the Black Forest for shooting a glowing piece of flat wood into the starry sky as a last ceremony to banish winter. Satis Shroff takes you to Kappel-Freiburg and shows you what's behind the scenes in this strange Allemanic, ethnological ritual.
March 04, 2009
The author takes you to Switzerland where the winter is banished in typical Swiss manner.The winter has been long, cold, snowy, icy and rainy and now the people in Switzerland, Germany and France and Austria are glad that it is slowing turning to Spring.
February 20, 2009
Gurkhas are the smart, loyal, disciplined elite troops of the United Kingdom and they have fought under the British flag since 200 years but although the British admire the fighting prowess of these hillmen and born-fighters from the Himalayan state of Nepal, the British government has in all the past 200 years not understood that the Gurkhas are also humans with rights.The British Gurkhas are struggling politely and with dignity for their human and working right and the right to stay on in the UK.
February 18, 2009
Satis Shroff takes you to the world of concentration camps during the Third Reich and survivors who still have traumatic experiences like angst and other medical symptoms. It is a recurring scenario in the heads of the former prisoners and flashbacks are common and caused by similar situations in hospitals.
February 11, 2009
Satis Shroff introduces a sculptor from the Black Forest and his fascinating works at Kappel, located near Freiburg (Germany).
February 11, 2009
Satis Shroff takes you to a graphic designer who makes unique dolls in the Black Forest and who has won many international gold and silver medals for her work. Collectors from all over the world have been appreciating her superb creations.
February 07, 2009
The author takes you to Switzerland and Germany during the Fasnet celebrations, where a lot of revelry and merry-making is the order of the fifth season (Fasnet, Fasching,Karnival). The witches and knaves and other motley, costumes ghouls and figures are in the streets of the alpine republics and the Black Forest. Come rejoice with him.
January 27, 2009
Not all Germans were on the side of the Nazis towards the end of World War II, and Sophie Scholl, Claus Stauffenberg and others risked their lives for human rights which were trampled upon by Hitler and his hordes.Satis Shroff thanks Tom Cruise and unmentioned writers and poets who write and speak, lest we forget the hoary past...
January 19, 2009
Satis Shroff writes poems about the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) in South-West Germany.
December 22, 2008
The Gaineys are the wandering minstrels of Nepal and they play the sarangi, a Himalayan fiddle, as they wander around from country to country bringing news and music, entertainment to the people in the hamlets of Nepal, who are cut off from the modern infrastructures.It is about being low-born in a Hindu society and the caste system, which in not only found in Nepal but also to a greater extent in neighbouring India.
December 16, 2008
"Bombay Burning" is about the problems between three nations: Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, and south Asia in general. If the political hotheads carry on the way they have been doing South Asia might soon be the scenario of a nuclear holocaust. The author pleads for a Miteinander, togetherness, one world against the virus of ethnic-hatred that devours humans.Satis Shroff makes a pladoyer for compassion,dignity of human life, Menschenwürde,Vernunft, understanding, respect and dignity which seems to be lost among certain world actors.
November 26, 2008
Satis Shroff writes about what moves him. In the "Sun in Benaras" he depicts a Hindu praying to Surya in the holy but polluted waters of the Ganges and in "The Whiteness of the Death Zone" he contemplates about the bitter cold and the danger of a white-out in the Himalayan heights.
November 14, 2008
Creative Writing Critique: Chicken of India Unite! (Satis Shroff)
Review: Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger. Atlantic Books, London, 2008. Man Booker Prize 2008. German version: ´Der Weisse Tiger´ published by C.H. Beck, 2008.
Aravind Adiga was a correspondent for the newsmag Time...
November 12, 2008
Beautiful Switzerland has not only a new Book Fair but also a new Book Prize. Satis Shroff tells you about the small literary world of this alpine republic and who the candidates are for the coveted new prize.
October 22, 2008
Satis Shroff takes you to the world of Venetian paintings by Whistler, Turner, Monet, Manet, Renoir now being exhibited at the Fondation Beyeler in Basle (Switzerland)and the shows you the impact that Venice has had on artists from Northern Europe and writers from the Anglo-Saxon world in his poem.
October 17, 2008
Satis Shroff invites you to the world of books at this year's Frankfurter Book Fair where poets and writers from the Turkey were the host nation.
September 25, 2008
Satis Shroff takes you to the Staufen in the Black Forest where a fairy tale story from the Middle Ages unfurls. But prior to that he tells you about the Swiss Fritschi, a jolly carnival figure from Luzern.
September 18, 2008
Satis Shroff introduces this time an author who writes from the Himalayas.Krishna Bhatt has brought out a new book "City Women and the Ghost Writer." A delightful book that gives insight into the workings of the Nepalese and Indian milieu and mind.
September 16, 2008
Ayo Gurkhali!
The Gurkhas are upon you!
This was the battle-cry
That filled the British heart
With pride and admiration,
And put the foe in fear.
Now the Gurkhas are not upon you.
They are with you,
Among you,
In London,
Guarding the Queen at the Palace,
Doing security checks
For V...
September 15, 2008
The Gurkhas are an integral part of the British Army but when it comes to pay scales and other benefits they are politely excluded from the rest of Britain's beneficiaries doing service for the good of England.The children of Gurkhas are not allowed to enjoy the same education as the British subjects and the refugees.England has created a fourth class of workers with the same status as the so-called "Guest workers" of Germany. But whereas Germany does not violate human rights, Britain still does.
September 01, 2008
Satis Shroff introduces this time an active German lady who has been doing a lot for Nepal's tourism in the past and has important publications dealing with trekking and tourism in Nepal.It all began with a joint-venture book "Bikas-Binas" with Kunda Dixit.
August 27, 2008
Satis Shroff grew up in the foothills of the Himalayas and knows the ways of the Gurkhas since his childhood. In this article he points out the sad and shabby treatment meted out to these excellent fighters, who are known for theiur friendship, loyalty and bravery to the British Queen.
August 27, 2008
The Gurkhas are excellent fighters in the battlefields but have been discriminated, given low pay and negligible pensions in comparison to soldiers of the other armies in this world. They still have to fight against injustice meted out to them by the past and present British governments.Satis Shroff's article is a pladoyer for better working conditions and human rights for the Gurkhas.
August 12, 2008
Drinking darjeeling is a favourite pastime among the British and in this poem the poet takes you to the world of Brtish politics---Labour and its problems in a silly season.
August 05, 2008
Satis Shroff takes you to the City of a Hundred Towers in this memoir, where he meets his student friends and exchanges views about politics in the country of his origin.
July 18, 2008
The Kanchanjunga is the third highest peak in the world and is revered by the Nepalese, Lepchas, Tibetans and people from the vast Subcontinent called India, formerly Bharat or Hindustan. It looms over the beautiful town of Darjeeling, the Queen of the hills, and on a clear day you can see even Mt. Everest, which the Nepalese call Sagarmatha and the Tibetans Chomolungma
July 03, 2008
Satis Shroff introduces you to the world of Ethnomedical therapies that are used by Practitioners of Traditional Medicine, and the seminar to go with these therapies in Munich, Germany. The Ethnomed therapy sessions are a regular affair organised by the Universities of Heidelberg and Munich.Traditional Medicine should go hand in hand with Modern Medicine. The Health Insurance organisations and medical schools authorities have yet to recognize this form of alternative, traditional medicine,which is based on Nature and so-called supernatural phenomenons.
June 23, 2008
The Shah Dynasty has ruled for a long time but now the days of the Nepalese Royals are over and the Maoist, Congress and other politicians have created a Republic of Nepal. Satis Shroff recollects his meeting with King Birendra, the brother of the ousted King Gyanendra and talks about the latter King's intermezzo in the Nepalese world of power politics.
June 19, 2008
Zaringen was once a flourishing castle dut the Bauernkrieg and Napoleon's war turned the castle into ruins. Wahat remains is a ruin that reminds us of the glorious time of the Deutsche Reich. Satis Shroff takes you to Zähringen 1000 years later.
June 13, 2008
The current European Soccer Championship is very exciting at the moment, and even the best teams are being defeated, and Switzerland as the other host-nation (besides Austria) has had to suffer tremendously but it does it with a Swiss charm that is worthy of this Alpine country's sense of precision, order,Miteinander (togetherness)and efficiency.
June 12, 2008
Satis Shroff's article deals with Interplast Germany's Christa Drigalla. Interplast was founded in 1965 in the USA and is a world wide organisation. Interplast Germany has been operating annually on 4000 patients in Asia, Africa and South America. Christa Drigalla runs the Interplast hospital in Nepal and is a dedicated worker.
May 16, 2008
Buto is a dance art that has its origins in Japan. Buto or Butho has become an interesting art form also in Finnland, where it was introduced by Japanese dancers. The Finns dance with a combination of light-effects and nudity is associated with Finnland's sauna culture, which is a normal thing, and is cathing on in other stages.
May 05, 2008
Goethe is to Germany, Austria and Switzerland what Shakespeare is to England, and the English speaking world. Every educated German, Austrian and Swiss national has been confronted with Goethe's literature sometime or the other. Goethe lived a long time ago but his works have much to say to us even in these modern times. (Satis Shroff, Freiburg im Breisgau)
April 14, 2008
Satis Shroff takes you to the car-free North Sea Isle of Langeoog with its wonderful East Friesian tea-houses, the fishermen in their trawlers, a walk along the flats along the coast which the Germans call 'Wattenmeer' and his lyrical longing for the cries of the seagulls, the North Sea and the dunes with their flaura and fauna.
March 27, 2008
This is a commentary on the Tibetan issue by an author who grew up in the southern foothills of the Himalaya and his plea for human rights, tolerance, peace and respect for other cultures.
March 24, 2008
The author introduces you to the Freiburger world of dancing and a culture-manager named Wolfgang Graf, who works in Switzerland.
March 06, 2008
Sajani Sakya the Living Goddess of Katmandu who went to the USA after having cross the Kala Pani,has resigned. Can you live a fulfilled life after the Kumari period? Satis Shroff takes you to the far-away town of Catmandu in a fascinating world of Godes, Goddesses, Kings and subjects who want to change the ancient values and traditions and live modern lives, a togetherness that is sometimes thwarted by the priests and kings.
March 03, 2008
Satis Shroff takes you to the hilarious and charming English texts in European hotels and elsewhere. English is a global language, spoken by almost 2000 million people, and when the language leaves its native surroundings it adds colour and foreign expressions and words--making it what it is: a hybrid language.
February 20, 2008
The young man and his double-clicks
In a cyberworld
Of bits and bytes,
Full of elves, tough turtles, dementors,
Warriors and evil beings,
Who destroy hamlets, towns,
Civilisations,
At the command of a few clicks.
An unreal world
Where the fantasy stories
Are pre-programmed.
The elimi...
February 10, 2008
Satis Shroff takes you to the most famous Swiss carnival: Morgenstraich which takes place on a Monday morning at 4am when the lights go out and the sound of piccolo flutes and drums are to be heard.A Swiis city vibrates to the sounds and sights of the Basler Fastnacht.
February 04, 2008
Satis Shroff takes you to the Allemanic-Swabian Fasnet celebrations in Freiburg and the Swiss celebrations in Basle.
January 18, 2008
Satis Shroff's Film review: Darjeeling Limited
January 10, 2008
MUSIC IN MY HEART (Satis Shroff, Freiburg)
As the Breisgau-train dashes in the Black Forest,
Between Elztal and Freiburg,
I am with my thoughts in South Asia.
I hear the melodious cry of the vendors:
‘Pan, bidi, cigarette,’
Interspersed with ‘garam chai! Garam chai!’
The sound of sambosas...
December 10, 2007
Kulturspezifische ethnische Self-help in Nepal (Satis Shroff)
Das Prinzip der Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe hat eine emanzipatorische und eine restriktive Seite. Es unterstreicht die anthropologische Annahme, daß Menschen in der Lage sind, ihr Leben in eigener Bestimmung und Verantwortung zu gestalten. D...
November 27, 2007
The Japanese Garden (Satis Shroff)
Nine Hauptschule kids in their teens,
Sit on benches in the Japanese Garden,
Near the placid, torquoise lake.
The homework is done sloppily.
Who cares?
The boys are bursting with hormones,
As they tease the only blonde from Siberia.
A fat guy named He...
November 24, 2007
‘Through Nepalese Eyes’ is about the journey of a young Nepalese woman to Germany to meet her brother, who lives with his German wife and daughter in an allemanic town named Freiburg. It is a travelogue written by a sensitive, modern British public-school educated man. He describes the two worlds: A...
November 14, 2007
IM SCHATTEN DES HIMALAYA (Lyrik und Prosa von Satis Shroff)
Wer den Dichter will verstehen
Muss in Dichters Lande gehen.
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Themen der Geschichten und Gedichten sind u.a.: Kampf um Demokratie (My Nepal: Quo vadis?), Transition (Wenn die Seele sich verabschiedet), und ...
November 02, 2007
LIVING WITH AIDS IN GERMANY (Satis Shroff, Freiburg)
"It's the 1st of November (Allerheiligen) and I ask myself: why do you give the dying company? In all those years I haven't visited a single grave. I can't let go of my clients before they die. I just can't bear to do it after a certain ...
October 19, 2007
Katmandu, Katmandu von Editor: Satis Shroff (Lulu.com)
Satis Shroff’s anthology is about a poet caught between upheavals in two countries, Nepal and Germany, where maoists and skin-heads are trying to undermine democratic values, religious and cultural life. Satis Shroff writes political poetry, ...
October 08, 2007
If Boeing wants to establish itself and sell more jets in Europe and sell more of their products, it would be advised to use ecological compatible ideas in the manufacture of aerospace technology. It is a fact that the Airbus industry buys a lot of landing-gears, engines, electronics, parts for inte...
October 06, 2007
Dr. Johann Faust, the man who sold his soul to the Devil. A mythical figure? Certainly not. I went to the pretty town of Staufen via Bad Krözingen from Freiburg. From the distance you can see the ruins of a castle looming above the vineyards on a hill. In the town below ...
October 06, 2007
Aerospace:
CROSSING THE SKY TO THE FUTURE (Satis Shroff, Freiburg)
If Boeing wants to establish itself and sell more jets in Europe and sell more of their products, it would be advised to use ecological compatible ideas in the manufac...
October 01, 2007
HINDUISM IN NEPAL (Satis Shroff, Freiburg)
Hinduismus ist das Ergebnis eines langwierigen Entwicklungsprozeßes. Hinduismus ist nicht nur eine Religion, sondern eine philosophische Weltanschauung und eine bestimmte Art zu leben. Hinduismus hat ...
October 01, 2007
Der Kumarikult in Nepal: Die Kumari (Lebenden Göttin) ist ein kleines Mädchen, die in einem 1760 erbauten Palast wohnt. Man kann sie an ihrem roten Kleid, das sie ständig tragen muß, erkennen. Ihr Haar muß immer pagodenförmig nach oben gebunden werden, und auf der Stirn trägt sie das dritte Auge der...
September 28, 2007
Der Kumarikult in Nepal: Die Kumari (Lebenden Göttin) ist ein kleines Mädchen, die in einem 1760 erbauten Palast wohnt. Man kann sie an ihrem roten Kleid, das sie ständig tragen muß, erkennen. Ihr Haar muß immer pagodenförmig nach oben gebunden werden, und auf der Stirn trägt sie das dritte Auge der...
September 24, 2007
Der Buddhismus war ursprünglich eine philosophische Reformbewegung, eine von vielen, die aus der Krise der vedisch-brahmanischen Religion im 6. Jahrhundert v. Chr. resultierten. Der historische Buddha wurde um 563 v. Chr. in Lumbini, im Süden des heutigen Nepal, nahe der Stadt Kapilavastu, als Prinz...
September 23, 2007
Der Buddhismus war ursprünglich eine philosophische Reformbewegung, eine von vielen, die aus der Krise der vedisch-brahmanischen Religion im 6. Jahrhundert v. Chr. resultierten. Der historische Buddha wurde um 563 v. Chr. in Lumbini, im Süden des heutigen Nepal, nahe der Stadt Kapilavastu, als Prinz...
September 12, 2007
White Chapel: Formerly Cockney, Now Bangladeshi
We took the underground from the Embankment (green route) to White Chapel in London's East End, previously a Cockney area, now turned Bengali. London's East End looked dark, dilapidated, gloomy, and there were hundreds of Asian shops and restaurant...
September 12, 2007
The Loss of Mental Metamorphosis (Satis Shroff)
Eight Indians on the run,
Fifty Neonazis behind them.
'Deutschland den Deutschen,
Ausländer raus!
Hier regiert der nationale Widerstand!'
Roars from the throats of the Neos,
Beer in their blood,
Defiance in their sanguine eyes.
The puls ra...
August 30, 2007
Stratford-upon-Avon is a fascinating little town. We went to the spacious farmhouse which was the early home of William Shakespeare's wife: Anne Hathaway. It was a house made of wattle, stone and brick, the earliest part dating back to the 15th century. I had done a lot of Shakespeare at school and ...
August 28, 2007
When mother closes her eyes,
She sees everything in its place
In the kingdom of Nepal.
She sees the highest building in Kathmandu,
The King’s Narayanhiti palace.
It looms higher than the dharara,
Swayambhu, Taleju and Pashupati,
For therein lives Vishnu,
Whom the Hindus call:
The unconquera...
August 28, 2007
My Nepal, what has become of you?
Your features have changed with time.
The innocent face of the Kumari
Has changed to the blood-thirsty countenance of Kal Bhairab,
From development to destruction,
You’re no longer the same.
There’s insurrection and turmoil
Against the government and the poli...
August 28, 2007
Wer den Dichter will verstehen
Muß in Dichters Lande gehen.
(Johann Wolfgang Goethe)
The Nepalese world that the Nepalese poets and writers describe and create is a different one, compar...
August 28, 2007
It was a glorious sunset,
The clouds blazing in scarlet and orange hues,
As the young man, riding on the back of a lorry,
Sacks full of rice and salt,
Stared at the Siwaliks and Mahabharat mountains
Dwindling behind him.
As the sun set in the Himalayas,
The shadows grew longer in the va...
August 24, 2007
"I have a strong interest in the legend of Manjushri," said Fumio Yonechi, a geo-morphologist from Yamagata city, when I met him in Kathmandu a long time ago. We were talking about the origin of Kathmandu Valley, which is located in the lap of the Himalayas.
"I have heard similar popular legends ...
August 23, 2007
ON CAROLINE WALTER (Satis Shroff)
I took a walk to the old cemetery
With its cultural treasures,
And saw the Dance of Death
At the entrance of Michael’s chapel.
The gravestones expressed
The self-consciousness of the citizens.
There were many stories
That made their rounds
In the town o...
August 20, 2007
Once upon a time there was a seventeen year old boy
Who lived in the Polish city of Danzig.
He was ordered to join the Waffen-SS,
Hitler’s elite division.
Oh, what an honour for a seventeen year old,
Almost a privilege to join the Waffen-SS.
The boy said, “Wir wurden von früh bis spät
Gesch...
August 20, 2007
MUSIC BETWEEN EAST AND WEST (Satis Shroff)
As the Breisgau-train dashes in the Black Forest,
Between Elztal and Freiburg,
I am with my thoughts in South Asia.
I hear the melodious cry of the vendors:
‘Pan, bidi, cigarette,’
Interspersed with ‘garam chai! Garam chai!’
The sound of sambosas b...
August 19, 2007
500 years ago near the town of Kashgar,
I, a stranger in local clothes was captured
By the sturdy riders of Vali Khan.
What was a stranger
With fair skin and blue eyes,
Looking for in Vali Khan’s terrain?
I, the stranger spo...
August 17, 2007
Switzerland:
Impressions From Central Switzerland (Satis Shroff)
It’s a sunny afternoon when Claudia and I boarded the ICE (Inter City Express) train from the Black Forest town Freiburg, then switch trains at the Swiss Badische Bahnhof (SBB) and travelled via Olten in a Swiss regional train to...
August 16, 2007
Switzerland:
Stoos is located in the Alp world of inner Switzerland 1300m above sea-level. This was once a region dominated by shepherds and farmers. Till 1933 you could go to Stoos only by foot, along a steep trail via Morschach or Ried (Muota Valley).
The shepherds and alpine farmers used to...
August 01, 2007
Like Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage'
And we've played many different roles in our lives
In various places and scenarios.
As we grow old and ripe, our knowledge of the world grows.
We hold what we cannot see, smell, taste and touch in our memories.
We only have to walk down memory ...
July 31, 2007
The Ocean of Wisdom (Satis Shroff)
Tenzin Gyatso, the spiritual and former
Temporal ruler of Tibet,
Came to a town in the Black Forest
And conquered the hearts of the Freiburger.
A lama in a back limousine,
Applauded by hundreds of Europeans and Asians.
You could feel the goose-pimples in y...
July 05, 2007
Even though generations of Nepalese soldiers called the fearsome Gurkhas, have fought Britain's colonial and other wars (Falklands, Croatia, Iraq) the Gurkhas don't have the same rights as ordinary British citizens.
It was a magnificent scenario: the proud Royal Scouts led British...
June 08, 2007
In the 80,000 hamlets of Nepal, there are over 400,000 shamans and traditional healers, who have to some extent acquired the basics of modern medical treatment through the Health Ministry.
The old tradition of the dhami-jhakri in which the fate of a person can be influenced by appeasing the sp...
June 08, 2007
It was a pathetic, unprecedented scenario in Germany’s TV channel when Erik Zabel, the cyclist, with tears in his eyes, and an emotionally distorted face, confessed in front of 5,5 million viewers that he had doped with Epo during the Tour de France in 1996. Tour de France, Giro di Italia, Tour de...
June 03, 2007
Wer den Dichter will verstehen
Muß in Dichters Lande gehen.
(Johann Wolfgang Goethe)
The Nepalese world that the Nepalese poets and writers describe and create is a different one, compa...
April 08, 2007
Tiger Ecology:Catching ‘em Alive (Satis Shroff, Freiburg)
I met John Sidensticker, a tiger-ecologist from the National Zoological Park (Smithsonian Institute) in Katmandu. He was a tall, thin-lipped, well-built man with deep blue eyes and a matching ruffle of brown hair. John had a Ph D in Wildl...
April 06, 2007
All mountains are holy in the Himalayas, but some mountains are holier than the others. A simple Nepalese with respect for the Gods in the mountains would never have the inspiration or inclination to climb the mountains he or she has revered. It was almost regarded as a sacrilege to ascend the t...
February 16, 2007
Fasnet celebrations:
It was 8 am on a snowy Monday morning. There were hundreds of motley clad and coloured spectators stomping their cold feet, all waiting for the boisterous merrymaking (Narrensprung) at the Old Town of Endingen (Kaiserstuhl), with 3500 costumed Narren from five countries. Amon...
February 14, 2007
‘My characters are purely fictional,’ says Kiran Desai. In her book (The Inheritance of Loss) she has tried to do exactly that, namely to capture her own knowledge about what it means to travel between East and West, and to examine the lives of migrants who are forced to hypocrisy, angst of being na...
February 14, 2007
The 126 year old cobalt blue coloured narrow-gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway train chugged and snorted its way from Kurseong to Darjeeling via Ghoom along the serpentine route, against the silvery backdrop of the 8598m Kenchenjunga Range, past the tea gardens, shanty tea-shops and tin-roofed huts...
February 14, 2007
It was 8 am on a snowy Monday morning. There were hundreds of motley clad and coloured spectators stomping their cold feet, all waiting for the boistrous merrymaking (Narrensprung) at Oberndorf, a picturesque town in south-west Germany.
On this cold, wintry morning the ghoulish, tragi-comical fig...
January 17, 2007
‘Due to the lack in clarity in Nepal’s Law, many Nepalese women have been victimised on the ground of spontaneous abortion, whether it was a simple miscarriage or abortion caused by the heavy manual labour on the part of the woman. The women of Nepal cannot defend themselves because of the lack o...
January 16, 2007
Whereas the older people in Asia pray the whole day and are in communion with God because the life-span in Asia is shorter, I had the impression here in Europe that the older generation are still living it up.
You’re pensioned at 67 years in Germany and are still robust and not very old. This new...
January 16, 2007
Claudia, Maria, my sister Neeta and I had lunch together. We'd cooked Nepalese food comprising: chicken, potatoes, rice and chutney and ice-cream as dessert, and sat watching some videos of Neeta's trip to Europe, when I suggested that we should go to the ecological exhibition (Ökoausstellung) at th...
January 07, 2007
The 126 year old cobalt blue coloured narrow-gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway train chugged and snorted its way from Kurseong to Darjeeling via Ghoom along the serpentine route, against the silvery backdrop of the 8598m Kenchenjunga Range, past the tea g...
January 07, 2007
Kathmandu Blues:
The Inheritance of Loss and Intercultural Competence (Satis Shroff, Freiburg)
‘My characters are purely fictional,’ says Kiran Desai. In her book (The Inheritance of Loss) she has tried to do exactly that, namely to capture her own knowledge about what it means to travel betwee...
December 15, 2006
‘Mom, I’ve received an invitation from Raj. I’m going to Germany!’
Saraswati’s mother, who had just finished her morning puja and meditation in her house-altar, and was carrying a copper plate with tika and other offerings, replied rather shocked, ‘Germany? Why on earth do you want to go to Germ...
December 11, 2006
It was a bright sunny morning when Claudia, Giacomo, Silvana I headed for Italy from Freiburg. The first Swiss town we went through was Basel, which is known for its university and chemical firms near the Swiss-German border.
The sky was a cobalt-blue as we sped through the Arisdorf tunnel. In Sw...
December 11, 2006
The loss of wildlife habitat in the states of Nepal, India and Pakistan caused by widespread and indiscriminate destruction of forests in the foothills of the Himalayas and the Karakoram has led to an ecological crisis, resulting in floods and landslides after the torrential monsoons. When the fores...
December 11, 2006
Whether you hear Radio Nepal, the BBC, CNN or the Voice of America, there’s no such thing as ‘correct spoken English.’ There is no standard as such, even though the Queen’s English is regarded as a measuring yard. As George Bernard Shaw said, ‘No two British subjects speak exactly alike.’ Whether yo...
December 11, 2006
Satis Shroff’s German Translations:
Satis Shroff has translated Nepali literature (prose and poems) by Nepali writers such as: Laxmiprasad Devkota (Muna Madan), Bhupi Sherchan, Banira Giri (Kathmandu), Bhisma Upreti, Krishna Bhakta Shrestha, Bal Krishna Sama (Ich Hasse & Auf der Suche nach Poesie...
December 05, 2006
Memoir: BACK TO THE VILLAGE DREAMS
Once upon a time there was a kingdom in the Himalayas called Nepal. People in the outside world also called it the Land of the Sherpas, the Land of Yetis and Yaks, the Land of the famous Gurkhas and the Land of the highest mountains in the world. It was ruled b...
December 02, 2006
Nepalese men and women work in the fields. They use the traditional bullocks and buffaloes that are seen in the villages of Southeast Asia.
They dig the fields manually. The women work beside the men, with babies strapped to their backs. Long wooden hoes are being used to dig and break the soil, ...
December 02, 2006
"Will the passengers please fasten their seat belts," said a soft voice over the intercom. And I slid one end of the belt into the heavy metallic slot, sat back, and peered through the window of the Royal Nepal jet.
The runway was clear and there was an Airbus 310, three Russian-made helicopters...
December 02, 2006
‘Give me a glass of water,’ said the London-trained Nepalese physician, as he came into the room, where a group of Nepalese people with Mongolian and Caucasian features were gathered, either pitying or wondering what the strange illness could be.
With the glass of water in his hand, the swarthy, ...
December 01, 2006
Basanta Sakya was a small, lean, swarthy, bespectacled Newar. He had a moustache, a slightly bent back and his voice was normally clear and loud like that of a primary-school teacher. And there he lay huddled in his bed. He shat in his pants, and hadn’t even noticed it, because he’d been drunk the e...
December 01, 2006
I met Toni Hagen ages ago in Freiburg where he’d come to give a talk about Nepal, and I must say he made a jolly good impression. As a long-time Freiburger, I went with him to a local tavern near the Schwabentor for a swig of German beer. ‘I’ve travelled 14,000 km on foot in Nepal’ said Toni Hagen,...
November 27, 2006
It was a chilly Sunday morning in February when Stefan, his wife Barbara, and I, decided to do a bit of cross-country skiing in the Feldberg area, which happens to be the highest peak in Baden-Württemberg (south-west Germany).
We’d received a call 8am from Frau Heinz (Stefan’s mother) who had mad...
November 13, 2006
"Give me a glass of water," said the London-trained Nepalese physician, as he came into the room, where a group of Nepalese people with Mongolian and Caucasian features were gathered, either pitying or wondering what the strange illness could be.
With the glass of water in his hand, the swart...
November 12, 2006
"Do they have witches in Germany?" asked Archana S., a 26-year old Nepalese woman from Dharan at a Nepalese get-together in the Pochgasse 31 in Freiburg, a university-town in south-west Germany.
It was an interesting question. I thought about the symbolic burning of the witches during the f...
November 12, 2006
Kathmandu without its gay and colourful vegetable dealers and the holy cows, those constant characters, that have featured in almost all paintings, sketches, photographs and books on Nepal will soon be a thing of the past.
The ecological minded mayor of Kathmandu rounded up 88 stray cows and ...
November 12, 2006
It was a beautiful sight. The sun was going down after a hot and sultry day, a scarlet mass, and the sky was a bright orange with shades of yellow and azure above. There were some clouds languidly moving ahead. A flock of sea-gulls dived and swirled around in the distance. The only noise you heard w...
November 12, 2006
"Will the passengers please fasten their seat belts," said a soft voice over the intercom. And I slid one end of the belt into the heavy metallic slot, sat back, and peered through the window of the Royal Nepal jet.
The runway was clear and there was an Airbus 310, three Russian-made helicop...