Save the "Cologne University India Summer Schools"

Dear friends and colleagues,

since 2002 "KARUPPANagencies" in Pondicherry have been a center for the well-known summer schools (Tamil and regional studies) of the Institute for South Asian and Southeast Asian Studies (SASOA) at the University of Cologne, as well as for individual field research. It has given countless students, researchers and interested parties from all over the world an insight into South Indian culture. As the SASOA institute at Cologne University will soon be closed, "KARUPPANagencies" provides the only possibility to carry on the legacy of Tamil teaching as developped over the past 60 years in Cologne.

The property, a traditional Tamil house that is over 150 years old, has living space for 13 guests, a sizeable library, multifunctional rooms and a large garden area. The location in the village of Korkkadu makes it an ideal place for study, research and cultural exchange (dance, art, sports, yoga, martial arts, etc.).

So far, Prof. Ulrike Niklas has maintained the property, together with family Sengamalai Desiganayagam which lives there and organizes "KARUPPANagencies", through private funds as well as through contributions from summer schools and field research. Due to the retirement of Prof. Niklas in 2023 and the financial losses due to the corona pandemic, the property is now in immediate danger of being sold. It would be lost as a study and research center! We urgently ask for your help! Every dollar counts. In a first step, we need US$ 31.800 (equals € 27.000) to be able to avert the impending sale at all. Furthermore, US$ 23.500 would be needed to carry out necessary renovation work.

Should we be able to achieve a total sum of US$ 275.000, we could not only save the house temporarily, but sustainably keep it as a study and research center for South Indian culture! For the sustainable variant, only 2.750 people worldwide would have to donate US$ 100 each. 

Participate now in the first phase of crowdfunding!

Please note: If we fail to achieve the minimum sum of US$ 31.800, the collected money will be spent to organize the last Summer Schools in the house or wherever possible.

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Niklas (Cologne University)

Prof. Dr. Kulkanti Barboza (Münster University of Applied Sciences)

Dr. Sven Wortmann (Cologne University)

Sandra Schlage M.A. (Bonn University)