Very few Germans know the situation in present-day India as well as Dr. Martin Kämpchen, whose personal life and professional work are shared between Germany and India. He has lived in India for over 40 years, has been an inhabitant of Santiniketan since 1980 and works as author, translator and journalist.
Martin Kämpchen has translated the works of the poet Rabindranath Tagore and the Hindu saint Ramakrishna from Bengali into German. He publishes anthologies, writes essayistic books and short stories. For the supplement of the well-known German Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper he regularly writes reports about India.
The cultural interchange between India and Germany, especially in the field of literature and religion, is a matter of personal concern. Martin Kämpchen travels extensively around India, returns to Europe several times a year and holds lectures and readings in Germany and India.
Also of great personal interest to him is the development of the neglected inhabitants of rural Indian villages. He has been striving for alternative development aid in the two indigenous villages Ghosaldanga and Bishnubati for over twenty years.
Martin Kämpchen has described the observations and experiences which resulted from his work with these indigenous people in the tribal villages in several books, for example in his latest work "Leben ohne Armut" (Living without Poverty).
He is a founding member, since 2009 an honorary member and from the word go one of the most active members of our association. Not only has he succeeded in initiating alternative development aid for the villages, he has also managed to organize a solid financial foundation for this work.
For those who are interested in further and more detailed information about Martin Kämpchen, including about his books and publications, we would ask you to have a look at his personal website, a newspaper article in Indian Express 04/2012.