Green City Freiburg Honours Nepalese Writer Satis Shroff

                                              Satis Shroff and a social worker from Freiburg

                                         Mr. Hermann Dittmers (CDU) & Richard Linder (MGV)

                                           A toast to Satis Shroff by VIPs from Kappel & MGV

                                            Satis Shroff with the singers from Betzenhausen

                                      

Green City Freiburg  Honours Satis Shroff, Kappel

At an official ceremony in Freiburg’s Exhibition Hall Ulrich von Kirchbach, the mayor in charge of Culture and Integration honoured the life work of Satis Shroff. In his laudatio, von Kirchbach presented an Urkunde from the City of Freiburg as a special acknowledgement for Satis Shroff’s commitment and prolonged support and assistance to refugees and foreign students, and as a member of the managing committee of the Männergesangverein (men’s choir) ‘Liederkranz’ Freiburg-Kappel.

Satis Shroff was awarded the DAAD Prize in 1998.

Culture can give you insight into the living world of refugees, it can help remove boundaries and open new horizons, thereby enhancing the development of creativity in humans. Accordingly, Satis Shroff said in his thank-you-message: “I’d advise migrants to join a German association (verein), for that’s the place to meet the Germans and interact positively with them. I’m a member of the MGV Kappel, where we sing old and new German and English songs. After the singing we invariably go to one of the two taverns in Kappel to joke, laugh and talk about what moves us. There’s respect, tolerance, compassion among the singers and a good feeling of togetherness within the community. Whether it’s religious or seasonal events, funerals or initiation-rites, the men’s choir is always there, taking part in all walks of life. In this way, we get to know our strengths and weaknesses and help each other with sound advice and action. As we say in Germany: I really feel ‘Sauwohl in Kappel,’ which means I feel great. I can’t imagine a better integration in the German mainstream.”

In the past, and even now and then, Satis Shroff has cared for refugee children from Bosnia, Madedonia and Kosovo-Albania and did pedagogic work with them. Many children were able to make the necessary grades and others were sent to their home-countries as soon as the krieg ceased in their country of origin. He remembers cases of refugee-families who were woken up from their sleep in the wee hours of the morning by the police and whisked away to Frankfurt, put in a plane and escorted to their countries. This is the other side of the world-wide refugee problem.

“One day, a tall and burly, unshaven Albanian man came to the social office and took us as prisoners. He hand a big plastic bag with a canister of petrol and a gun in his hand and said, “If you don’t do what I say I’ll blow you all up.” We were terrified. He was a father who’s daughter had been taken away by the social department because he’d been maltreating her. Whew! That was a traumatic experience. I thought my life was going to end there,” said Satis Shroff.  

As a contact person and counsellor for the DAAD and the Alexander von Humboldt Stipendium he worked in cooperation with the Academic Foreign Office in Freiburg and cared for students and scientists from Nepal, India and the United Kingdom and he still maintains good contacts with these academicians.

Satis Shroff speaks English, German, Nepali, Hindi and Urdu and has also worked as a translator with the Amtsgericht on a honorary basis. He has assisted the migrants where he could and he says: “Migrants are helpless in a foreign country and there are cultural, social and language barriers. They a confronted with a strange administrative system and unusual laws and jurisprudence. All this makes the migrant raise his or her hands in despair.”

He was officially requested by the town of Ilmenau to translate Goethe’s famous poem: ‘Wandrers Nachtlied. He has also translated Nepali literature into Nepali. His German book of poems ‘Im Schatten des Himalaya’ has been printed by  www.lulu.com/satisle. He has also written two Nepali language books for German development workers of GTZ, Goethe Institute, DAAD and the members of the Carl Duisberg Society.

Before he came to Germany for further studies, he worked as a Features Editor with the Rising Nepal, where he wrote editorials and a science column, and commentaries for Radio Nepal on themes pertaining to the country’s development, wildlife and culture.

Satis Shroff is a lecturer, poet, journalist and a passionate singer. ‘I simply love singing Nepali, Hindi, English and German songs,’ he says. He’s a prolific writer and a contributing writer on www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/1207

 and on www.blogs.boloji.com/satisshroff and satisshroff.tigblogs.org to name a few.

He likes to describe himself a mediator between western and eastern cultures and sees his future in social engagements in the French sense of the word, and in writing and teaching medical subjects and English and German literature.

Satis Shroff: Ehrung eines aktiven Sängers (MGV Kappel)

                                            MGV Kappel and other VIPs from Kappel-Freiburg

                                             The Choir from Betzenhausen

                                                    Satis & a social worker

                                                         Satis with Richard Linder, MGV-Kappel

                                                 At Kappel's lovely Eschenweg..

Ehrung eines aktiven MGV Sängers in Freiburg

Der Burgermeister für Kultur, Jugend, Soziales und Integration Ulrich von Kirchbach hat den aus Nepal stammenden Dozent, Dichter, Autor und Sänger (MGV Kappel) Satis Shroff in eine Festveranstaltung in Freiburg geehrt. Der ehemalige DAAD Preisträger wurde geehrt als „besondere Anerkennung für vorbildliches bürgerschaftliches Engagement bei der langjährigen Unterstützung und Begleitung von Flüchtlingen und als Vorstandsmitglied im Männergesangverein „Liederkranz“ Kappel e.V.

Satis Shroff lebt in Freiburg (poems, fiction, non-fiction) und schreibt über ökologische, medizin-ethnologische und kultur-ethnische Themen. Er hat Zoologie und Botanik in Nepal, Social Sciences und Medizin in Freiburg und Creative Writing in Freiburg und UK studiert. Da Literatur eine der wichtigsten Wege ist, um die Kulturen kennenzulernen, hat er sein Leben dem Kreatives Schreiben gewidmet. Er arbeitet als Dozent in Basel (Schweiz) und in Deutschland an der  Akademie für medizinische Berufe (Uniklinik Freiburg). Ihm wurde der DAAD-Preis verliehen.

Kultur kann Einblicke in fremde Lebenswelten geben, Grenzen überwinden, neue Horizonte öffnen und Kreativität fördern. In diesem Sinne sagte Herr Shroff in seine prägnante Dankeschön: „Ich werde Migranten raten in einem Deutschen Verein Mitglied zu werden, da es eine schöne Miteinander ist. Ich bin Mitglied beim Männergesangverein Kappel und fühle mich Sauwohl und gut aufgenommen von allen. Eine bessere weg zur Integration kann ich mir nicht vorstellen.“

Herr Shroff betreute Kinder- und Kriegsflüchtlinge aus Bosnien, Mazedonien und Kosovo-Albanien, begleitete sie durch die Schule und viele haben einen guten Schulabschluss geschafft.

Als Kontaktperson für den DAAD und der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung arbeitete Herr Shroff zusammen mit dem Akademischen Auslandsamt in Freiburg und betreute StudentInnen aus Nepal, Indien und England. Er hat diese StudentInnen begleitet und hält heute noch guten Kontakt zu diesen Akademikern.

Herr Shroff spricht fließend Englisch, Deutsch, Nepali, Hindi und Urdu und arbeitete ehrenamtlich als Dolmetscher beim Amtsgericht Freiburg. Er unterstützt sie wo er kann, denn diese Migranten sind hilflos in der Fremde und es gibt kulturelle, soziale und sprachliche Barrieren. Ein fremdes Verwaltungssystem und ein ungewohntes Gesetzgebung überfördert diese Menschen, und hier hilft Herr Shroff.

Für die Stadt Ilmenau übersetzte Herr Shroff Goethes Gedicht „Wandrers Nachtlied“ in Nepali. Er übersetzt Nepali Literature ins Deutsche. Sein Gedichtband „Im Schatten des Himalaya“ ist bei www.Lulu.com/satisle erschienen.

Bevor er nach Deutschland kam „for further studies“ wie es so schön auf Englisch heißt, hat er in Katmandu als Features Redakteur in The Rising Nepal gearbeitet und schrieb eine naturwissenschaftliche Kolumne, und Leitartikel für Radio Nepal verfasst.

Er hat sechs Bücher geschrieben: Im Schatten des Himalaya (Gedichte und Prosa), Through Nepalese Eyes (Reisebericht), Katmandu, Katmandu (Gedichte und Prosa mit Nepali Autoren) Glacial Whispers (Gedichtesammlung zwischen 1997-2010).  Er hat zwei Sprachführer im Auftrag von Horlemann Verlag und Deutsche Stiftung für Entwicklungsdienst (DSE) geschrieben, außerdem drei Artikeln über die Gurkhas, Achtausender und Nepals Symbolen für Nelles Verlags ‚Nepal’ und über Hinduismus in „Nepal: Myths & Realities (Book Faith India). Sein Gedicht „Mental Molotovs“ wurde im epd-Entwicklungsdienst (Frankfurt) veröffentlicht. Seine Lyrik sind in Slow Trains, International Zeitschrift, World Poetry Society (WPS), New Writing North, Muses Review, The Megaphone, Pen Himalaya, Interpoetry publiziert worden. Er ist ein Mitglied von Writers of Peace, poets, essayists, novelists (PEN), World Poetry Society (WPS).

Wenn Sie mir über Satis Shroff und seine Werke wissen wollen, dann suchen Sie bei Google oder Yahoo unter: satis shroff. Weitere links sind:

http://www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/1207

www.lulu.com/satisle

 www.boloji.com/satisshroff

www.satisshroff.tigblog.org

Ebnet in the Black Forest (Satis Shroff)

                                              Fataou, Herbert Tombreul, Andreas

                                                  Roswitha (journalist) & Sandra (conductor)

                                                            Ebnet Choir

                                          The choirs from the Dreisam Valley singing together

                                                Dreisamtal Choirs 2010 in Ebnet's Dreisam Hall

Schwarzwald Chronicle: 

         A Hundred Years of Songs in Ebnet (Satis Shroff)

We’re 100 years old,

You can believe us,

A toast with a glass of wine:

Life is lovely

The text is actually a parody on the song sung by Germany’s oldest singer and actor Johannes Heesters. This song was sung during a traditional evening to celebrate Ebnet’s 100^th anneversary. Ebnet is a small town in the outskirts of the historical town of Freiburg. From Freiburg-Kappel you can not only see Ebnet but also the peak Rosskopf and the snuggy towns of Stegen, Buchenbach, Kirchzarten, Oberried and St. Peter in the blue Black Forest Mountains. Ebnet was formerly a bottleneck, as far as commuting by car to and fro from the Black Forest highway was concerned, but a good solution was the B31 tunnel which now speedily brings thousands of commuters from the area.

The festival began on Saturday with a big concert in which Ebnet’s choir sang folk-songs from different countries in the local Allemanic tongue, as well as old German hits, gospels and melodies from operas and operettes. ‘The Dreisam Sparrows’ from Ebnet contributed to the lyrical evening and the blonde opera singer Silke Gäng was a highlight.

The Sunday began with a mass at the local church performed by J.Kienzle and Ruth-Klumbies. The spiritual prayers were concluded with gunfire in the air as a form of salutation, followed by a procession to the Dreisam Hall to the accompaniment of all the associations of Ebnet led by its music-verein with a lot of oomph. After that it was ‘Frühschoppen’ time in the Dreisam Hall, a term used to denote eating and drinking with one’s friends and relatives after church. Such a tradition binds the community and you can talk about your maladies and also business, in case you have new proposals or things need fixing in your household, office or homestead. The personal contact is preferred to the mobile and sms mails among the older generation. The younger generation have their mobiles, I-phones and what-have-yous and talk about going shopping in downtown Freiburg’s Kaiser Joseph Strasse or in Karlsruhe or the nearest town where they have a Burbury’s or a Mango Outlet: Basle, Zürich or Paris. Commuting by car or the sleep, white ICE (inter-city-express) trains.

The Ebnet’s Landfrauen had organised lunch. Landfrauen is a term used for the provincial woman but today there are modern mothers and wives who work in offices and shops and join the women’s association as an important, traditional recreation.

The afternoon was devoted to the different choirs, mixed and predominantly men’s choirs from the Dreisam Valley. The concert commenced with a song ‘Wir laden uns ein’ a song from the operette ‘Die Fledermaus’ by Johann Strauss and sung by the mixed choir of Gesangverein Ebnet, followed by ‘So schön wie heut’ and the Irish Journey Blessing. The conductor was Sabine Pander, a tall young brunette on the piano.

We from the Männergesangsvewrein Kappel ‘Liederkranz’ sang: ‘Durch’s Wiesental gang I jetzt na,’ a sad song about someone who collects flowers from the meadows, goes to the grave of her beloved but he isn’t in the grave and has taken another woman. I love the refrain ‘I han kai Schätzle meh!’ I don’t have a beloved anymore. An expression of the loss of love. The other song we sang was: a farewell heimat song entitled ‘Nun ade du mein lieb Heimatland,’ a song which emphasises that the singer has to leave his home country and go a-wandering and bids adieu. The third song was ‘Sonnenaufgang’ composed by Peter Cornelius in 1843. A song about the longing evoked by the purple glow of the mountains; the sun which is called ‘O heavenly light’ as in many cultures like the ‘Surya namaskar’ (worship of the sun at the beginning of the day among the Hindus). The singer pleads for a storm of the night after which the sun should shine in its old glory.

The choir Edelweiss from Buchenbach in light grey blazers sang ‘Freunde, lass uns singen, Sing mit mir and Reinhard May’s popular song from the late 70’s ‘Über den Wolken,’ a Luftwaffe or Lufthansa pilot’s delight. The conductor was Dieter Agricola, a burly, bespectacled guy with powerful fingers. It made me think of Horowitz.

The singers from ‘Schwarzwald’ Oberried sang Luigi Denza’s popular ‘Funiculi, Funicula’ followed by a Dalmatian folk-song ‘Kadsi bila mala mare’ with Michael Weh as its conductor. Liederkranz Zarten sang Otto Groll’s ‘Das Aue Maria der Berge’, Ulrich Furrer’s ‚Nach Süden sich nun lenken’ and Walter Hart’s Ein frohes Lied, to cheer us up.

The men’s choir Kirchzarten came up with Toni Ortelli’s well-known ‚La Montanara, Franz Philipp’s ‘In einem Wiesental’ and an Allemanic Volksweise Z’Mülle an die Post.

The long, delightful afternoon was brought to a good end with all the men’s choirs of the Dreisam valley singing the following songs: H. Casimir’s ‘Breisgauer Sängergruss, P. Pracht’s Morgenrot, conducted by Sabine Pander.

Great folksongs on an otherwise drizzling afternoon at the Dreisamhalle in Ebnet. This small town on the right bank of the river Dreisam, which flows through Freiburg, maintains contact with Innsbruck, Tirol. It is a pity that young people don’t want to sing and uphold this wonderful tradition of the Gesangsverein. Ebnet is a typical example of this tendency among the youth of Germany. In 1993 a group called ‘Young Singers’ and  a Children’s Choir were founded and the singers in Ebnet were elated and hoped more young blood would join the singer association. By 2001 there was there was no one who was interested in singing the old traditional German songs (Deutsche Liedergut) and the ‘Young Singers’ became a thing of the past. The youth prefer listening to their downloads in their MP3s and mobiles and it’s English songs from the USA or UK they prefer or German rap and Heavy Metal and not songs about the holy mountains and heimat.

In 1939 when there was World War II in Europe, the choir-activities came to an abrupt end. There was no time for singing except for old Soldier’s songs and Lale Anderson’s version of ‘Lili Marleen.’ Actually this song with text by Hans Leib and music by Norbert Schultz becume an international solder’s song which was very popular and has been parodied a lot. I remember travelling to the Isle of Langeoog (North Sea) where this song and Lale Anderson’s memories still lingered there. (Do read my article on Langeoog). Like the Männergesangsverein Kappel, a lot of singers died during the krieg or were reported missing. It was in 1947 that a new start was made through the permission of the Occupation Powers. The country was divided into the Canadian, US, British, Soviet, French sectors. In Ebnet and Kappel’s case it was the French authorities. In 1950 there was a big concern and festival to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the Gesangsverein Ebnet. But when the men, who’d experienced hardships in the krieg, started dying out, the men’s choir like everywhere in the country changed their names to ‘Gesangsverein’ or ‘Chorvereinigung’ like in Hochdorf whereby the ladies became the new members.

Creative Writing Submissions: Short Stories, Microstories (Satis Shroff)

Creative Writing Submissions   (Short Stories) ZfS Uni Freiburg SS 2010:

                                              Creative Writing Semester 2010 Uni Freiburg

                                                Freiburger Writers cheer for the national team

                                                     McDonaldstor, oops Schwabentor

                                                    Poems & Photos at Frankfurt 2010

                                                              Writers USA

                                                      The Blue Sofa at Frankfurt 2010

                                          Indian author Mita kapur with her new book:The F-Word

Titles & Authors:

The Kernel of the Brute (Thilo Bronnenmeyer): The Devil smiled and said, ‘After all that’s what the Apocalypse is about, isn’t it?’

The Willow Chair (Alexander Bühler): A real page turner: ‘I burnt the witch, I burnt the witch!’..

Short Story, No Title (Dayal Smaran): Students on the run in Shey. Fast pace and good dialogue..

The Thief of the Worlds (Kaya Dohrn): Great idea bringing fantasy into reality…

Till Death Do Us Part (Tino Falke): A modern vampire story, good description..

Night Shift (Christian Goltsche): Th Sri Lankan with roses in his hand smiled and said, ‘Take a rose. Give it to your girlfriend..’

Cherry-red Blueberries (Felix Hoffmann): A writer who’s in command of his story. The suspense grows and he’s got the reader hooked. The story has an open end. The inevitable after a climax culiminating in separation, death or flight? Your guess is just as good as mine.

 Encounters (Janine-Sophie Kemming): Thought-provoking encounters: Leila, Tim, Lisbeth, Maya, Maria, Dear Dave, On encounters.

Still Dreaming (Sarah Link). ..used the stream of consciousness method and was in control of the story..

And Out Come the Wolves (Daniel Schäuffele): Daniel’s page turner: ‘My mind is running. My daughter, my mother, the people I killed..

Somewhere in Namibia (Edith Schnapper): A wonderful story. ‘..her beautiful face was the symbol of a western world that was rejecting him. Now she was gone forever.’

Do You Remember? (Cora Alisa Schomberg): ‘There will be no more pain, only silence. Maybe I’ll see you again, down there in the darkness..’

The World Cup (Sonja Schult): Microstories on: The World Cup, the Crowd, Mysteries, Uncovered, The Trip to Spain and Thinking. Good imagery..

Esperanza (Samira Shauna Strauß): ‘I think you won’t be needing these today’..I was confused. I had never been allowed to skip my medication..’

The Journey of the Mind (Anna Carolina Stylianopoulou): Excellent story-telling using flashbacks. Never a dull moment. Has plot, pace  and everything.

* * *

I’d like to thank you for the submissions. It was a pleasure to read the microstories and short stories and to know that a transfer of knowledge had taken place. I’d like to wish you all writers success in your endeavours after the Bachelor’s in Anglistik and Amerikanistik, Philosophy and other subjects. Keep on writing and reading and vice versa.