FREIBURGER ZEITGEISTLITERATURE (Satis Shroff)

        Himalayan Micropoems (Satis Shroff) लो छरि प   Lights flicker in Mahabharat mountains The air smells of rhododendrons The splendour of the Himalayas. * * * I stay in my tent Dream of cherry blossoms And a blonde in kimono. * * * The fishtailed one appears Gleaming in silvery moonshine Mirrored on placid Phewa lake. * * * Winter is here The magic of snowy landscape Out with the snowboots. * * * Snowflakes falling from Heaven Frau Holle is dusting blankets Gott sei Dank my heater works * * * Clouds waltz in the sky Men are out to conquer The holy Himalayan peaks. * * * Sudden monsoon rain Soaks the mountainside A landslide causes screams of agony. * * * Baptism of monsoon A landslide washed the road away Groping and cursing uphill as a child. * * * The large ice chunks leap Crash upon the fragile tents The base camp's a crevice. * * * Snow in my tent Earthquake Tremor in my heart...

FREIBURGER ZEITGEISTLITERATURE (Satis Shroff): Commentary: ENGLISH SANS ENGLAND (Satis Shroff) :   Brexit? Ah, the Anglophobes in the European continent, especially Germans, are rubbing their hands and saying ‘Gimme Five!’ Why? You ...

Memoir: IN THE STREETS OF PRAGUE (Satis Shroff) ‘It’s awfully nice to see you in Czech surroundings’ said my long-lost friend Kundan, as he raised his massive and ornate glass of pivo, the famous black Czech beer. That was in 1976 and the Czechs and Slovaks were a single nation. Kunda Dixit was “Our Man Behind the Iron Curtain” and wrote a column in The Rising Nepal named “Prague Prattles.” Kanak might have the gift of the gab, but I’d always enjoyed Kunda’s literary articles during my Katmandu days, when Hippies and Flower Power people were everywhere, mostly to be seen in the high temples and pagodas, stoned with Cannabis sativa, wearing deshi clothes with the word “Ram” printed on them a thousand times. In Katmandu it was a delight to go to the many psychedelic cafes, where you could drink tea and relish Katmandu’s “special” cake baked with hash. After that, and a round of charas smoking, Katmandu looked different. Fantastic, psychedelic Katmandu, made immortal by Cat Steven...

Colonial Splendour in European  Vitrines (Satis Shroff) Asian and African heritage Robbed from our ancestors, Former kings, sultans and chieftans, Are now declared legal gifts. The British Museum reveals The embezzled colonial treasures, Locked in vitrines with electronic alarms. The    works of art are evidence Of plundered and robbed spoils, The cultural heritage of defeated nations, Of long forgotten wars and bloody skirmishes. Today we meekly   pay the entrance fee In Amsterdam, London and Paris To witness our heritage Preserved and treasured In Europe. ©satisshroff