This idea was initiated by Sangita Ariane, a half-Bengali half-German woman who was born and raised in Vienna. Approaching her 50s, she realised how much she had missed in years of Western conditioning and she travelled to stay for several months in Kolkata and other places in Bengal that connected her to her family roots and Bengali heart. The first journey in 2016/17 was followed by subsequent visits in 2017/18 and 2018/19 (planned).
Apart from learning her father tongue, she got in touch with her “Bengali brothers and sisters” riding public busses and local trains in Kolkata. She lived with the BAUL community and found the spirit of national poet Rabindranath Tagore in Santiniketan. She was obviously fed with Bengali cuisine and attended traditional classical concerts like for instance an all-night boithak.
Living in her ancestral home in a village near Jhargram, Medinapur, she joined not only several religious festivities, but most of all, the heart of so-called “common people”. She got a taste of social work at the mission of Mother Theresa and visited various other projects addressing issues of indigenous people, women, children and organic farming.
In April 2018, for the first time not only in her personal history, but possibly in her entire family history, she crossed the border to Bangladesh and was led to the village and birth house of her Indian grandfather! This was all the more impressing, as it was not actually planned, but came about in a spirit of spontaneity, heartfelt devotion and passionate cooperation. Sangita was touched deeply by something familiar and yet different to anything she had experienced so far.
Back in Vienna, she searched for the Bengali community and found it in individuals westernised to a high degree (like she had been), segregated in private homes, dispersed and disputed amongst eachother. Also, the Bengalis from Bangladesh lived and gathered separately. Sangita painfully noticed a high degree of mistrust, old unconcealed hurt, ignorance and resignation blocking the heart of Bengalis towards themselves and their people.
Bangla Ghor meetings
The very first meeting of Bangla Ghor took place on 7th June 2018 in Vienna.
In the rooms of a Pakistani restaur ant with a Bangladeshi waiter, Zannatul and Farzana from Bangladesh, Swapna from Kolkata, her friend Archna from Delhi and half Bengali Sangita met in a very joyful spirit.
Sangita shared news from her time in Bengal and announced the option to present Bangla Ghor at an upcoming event called the SEVA INDIA Festival. It was agreed that this core team should attract other members from their respective communities, to spread the news of Bangla Ghor and of the Seva India festival and to continue meeting regularly.
tiefeweite 