Posted in Auschwitz, Bertold Brecht, Gürs, Hoyerswerda burns, Jaldi bhago, Jews, Mental metamorphosis, Mental molotovs, Miteinander, Mölln, Zindagi bachao, beer, complacent, enclaves of intolerance, foreigners, indifferent, like the Sphinx, neos, onlookers, sanguine eyes on August 31, 2007 | No Comments »
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 races,
Adrenalin surges in the veins:
Fight or flight.
Naked angst.
Hyperventilation,
Tachycardy.
No one helps,
They just look on,
Like Bertold Brecht would say.
As the Jews were [...]
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Posted in Anne Hathaway, East End, Florence Nightingale, Little India, Paddington, Ragas, Sama veda, Shakespeare, cottage garden, sonnets on August 30, 2007 | No Comments »
Shakespeare Country and London’s East End (Satis Shroff, Freiburg)
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 [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on August 28, 2007 | No Comments »
NIRMALA: Between Terror and Ecstasy (Satis Shroff)
People were out in the streets of Bremen,
A town in Germany,
Candles in their hands,
Some murmuring prayers,
Some silent
To remember me,
A woman from the Himalayas.
I’d left Nepal to see the world
Outside Kathmandu Valley.
I’d ignored the words
Of my father and my brother.
I’d saved money for years
And taken a credit to buy my [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on August 27, 2007 | No Comments »
SANTA FE (Satis Shroff)
A German professor wooed me
And said I could still do my creative writing work
If, and when, I married him.
I said ‘Ja’ and gave birth to five children,
And had no time to write.
I was forever changing napkins,
Applying creams on the baby’s bottom,
Cooking meals for seven family members,
Washing the piles of cups and plates, [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on August 27, 2007 | No Comments »
Posted in Bagmati river, Chovar Gorge, Fumio Yonechi, Godavari, Japan, Kathmandu Valley, Kathmandu is Nepal, Manjushri, Nakhu, Nepal, Pleistocene, Yamagata and Kathmandu Valley on August 24, 2007 | No Comments »
Memoir:
Kathmandu Valley Legend (Satis Shroff)
“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 [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on August 21, 2007 | No Comments »
Let’s Live Together, Despite the Differences
(Satis Shroff, Freiburg)
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. [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on August 14, 2007 | No Comments »
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 towards Luzern. The train sped past small hills, spurs, lakes, scores [...]
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Posted in Schweyz, Switzerland on August 14, 2007 | No Comments »
Switzerland:
Votive Images of the Mountain Chapel at Stoos (Satis Shroff)
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 [...]
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