FREIBURGER ZEITGEISTLITERATURE (Satis Shroff)

THE TIBETAN PRAYER WHEEL (Satis Shroff) (Subtitle: O, cry with me) Adieu winter, The signs of growth are here, Between sunshine and rain. There’s a subtle greening everywhere. People work line bees, Cutting and pruning weeds Using their ancient hoes To plough the terraces The joy that plants have survived Beneath the deadwood. There’s optimism in the air And with it hope, When crocuses rear their heads. Lovely lupins, delphiniums and daffodils, In the meadows of the Himalayas. People are bathing in the tributaries of holy rivers, Chanting vedic hymns. Those who have lost their mothers, Remember them through rites, Followed by a bath in the river Matatirtha. The sound of thundering hoofs in Tudikhel, In the heart of Catmandu. Snorting and foaming horses, And cheering Nepalese. Spectators who watch the great chariots Of Bhairawa and Bhadrakali. The joy of the fresh air, In the tranquility of the blue Mahabharat hills...

We in Freiburg will also be doing the same with candles this evening at the Augustinerplatz (5pm) to remember the Nepalese and foreign visitors who lost their lives in Nepal due to the earthquake recently. May their souls rest in peace. --  Creative City Freiburg / Satis Shroff Zeitgeistlyrik: RING THE TEMPLE BELLS (Satis Shroff) Ring the temple bells of Pashupati, The lofty Dharara tower is razed down, A quake rages over Nepal. The hungry tremor buries humans As the soil parts, Swallowing what lay above. Ring the stupa gongs of Swayambhu, Our memories are so treacherous, For we've ignored the warnings, Of a forthcoming disastrous quake. A week hence the Swiss search-team, Gives up its sniffing canine Tail-waggling sleuths. What remains is confounded decay Of tourists and Nepalis, Under piles of debris. The Nepali Army digs still, And saves the souls of some. Ring the cloister bells of Tengboche, Burn the incense sticks, Offer tormas to the Buddhist and Hindu deit...

NEPAL: AFTER THE QUAKE (Satis Shroff) (Acryl by Satis Shroff: Kanchenjung Massif) The birds were flying in panic in the sky over the Durbar Square and Basantapur, Asan Tole like in a scenario from an Alfred Hitchcock film. The temples on which they formerly roosted had been pulverised and what remained were gigantic conical heaps. The famous Nautale Durbar temple in the Basantapur Square has been destroyed and the white neo-classical Rana palace from where the former kings and royalty of Nepal used to greet the folk is also partially damaged. The Dhara tower, about which we Nepalese used to read about and the exploits of Junga Bahadur Rana, has also been demolished. Over 4000 people have died, 6,500 injured, and the death toll is expected to be more under the piles of earth, wood and bricks. A strong earthquake lasting almost 2 minutes hit Kathmandu in the morning of April 27, 2015 measuring 7,8 on the Richter scale, according to USGS. The epicentre l...

Himalayas: Once the Abode of the Gods (Satis Shroff) Through the power of the mind the human being creates his or her own environment, which we call culture. Even though Homo sapiens has physical handicaps we are able to create a civilisation wih our special culture-technic which enables us to live in the foothills of the Himalayas (Nepali Sherpas), the Arctic (Inuit) and in hot sandy deserts (Tuaregs). European thought has taken over the thought of living in symbiosis with Nature. The Himalayas were always holy, a sacred Abode of the Gods and Goddesses. The victory of European line of thinking of become victorious over other countries, and the urge to rule them, exploit them for more profit and power became the aim of colonial powers which captured and even sold slaves from Africa for the cotton fields of the USA and elsewhere. The colonial idea of conquest of the highest mountain in the world was one such longing of the British rulers in India. The Everes...