Chiara: «I am an ignorant. I must understand».
Dr. Somaiya: «This is not true Chiara. I have understood this looking you in the eyes. There are leaders who can communicate with their mind. You have a great Ideal (theory). A woman like you, is capable of moving the whole society on her own. You are among these few. In our campus not everybody is committed to real religion. This is because we lack of a Chiara among us ».
This are the few words that back in January 2001, opened a dialog which brought to the great friendship between Dr. Shantilal Somaiya and Chiara Lubich. A year from his death the Indian entrepreneur was remembered at the beginning of January within the big campus of Vidhyavihar -in the northeastern suburbs of Bombay- within the traditional inter religious dialog meeting organized every year by Somaiya Sanskriti Peetham.
Dr. Kala Acharya -director of the center- desire was to remember the Indian business men many sides. However, what she mostly wanted was to remember him as a man of dialog, open towards other cultures and religions.
This is why, the opening speech was done by Roberto Catalano -at the moment jointly responsible for the Inter religious Dialog Center of the Focolare Movement- who has being living for over 30 years in India. He witnessed the unique friendship between Somaiya e Chiara. In his speech, he retraced the milestones of a friendship, which over the first years of the new millennium, was the birth-giver of three symposiums between Hindus and Christians. Symposiums of great cultural and spiritual insight.
Dr. Somaiya’s son Samir Somaiya- shared his desire of following his father’s footsteps and committed to carry on his mission not only from the industrial point of view, but also from the cultural and dialog points of view. Also his daughter Samir Somaiya, his wife and his sisters attended the ceremony. Many were the members of the Focolare Movement attending, to witness a lasting friendship.