Journey Into Humanity

Namaste.

- Sangita Ariane Wilk-Sanatani

My name is Sangita Ariane Wilk-Sanatani and, as you can see from my name, I embody an Indo-European spirit. There is a story to the origin of my family name, but I prefer to interpret it as my mission to serve the all pervading “Sanatan Dharma”.

My mother is German, father Bengali and I was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. Aged around 50, I look back on a history of a rising Indian expatriate community, my father being amongst the first Bengalis to settle there. Today you will find the UN quarters and a colourful diversity of nations in Vienna. My love for music has also been well nourished in this city that was a home for great spirits like Bethoven and his admirer Smt. Mira Behn, companion of Gandhiji.

It is a great pleasure and honour to be asked to write some lines for a magazine like “Business Economics” which I consider a positive example of how spirit matters along with economic and social action.

The stories I have to tell are stories of every day life in Bengal. This is the stage for our play called “Humanity in development”. The actors in this play are mothers, children, fathers and students… they are millionaires or beggars, businessmen and housewives, newly born and nearly 100 years old. They are bus drivers in Kolkata and baul musicians in Santiniketan, organic farmers in the Sundarbans and Europeans who love Kolkata.