The Merchant of Stories: A Creative Entrepreneur's Journey

By Dipa Sanatani

The voyage is different for every artist and entrepreneur. What inspires them to leave behind the comforting shore of security for uncertainty and risk? What pushes them to chart uncharted terrains with no reward in sight? Expect the unexpected as Dipa Sanatani takes us on her journey in The Merchant of Stories.

“No matter how much we plan things—or not plan anything at all—life’s plans will always take precedence over our own. When we come into this world, we are not promised fortune, fame, a happy family or really anything at all. All we get is the journey. And in these pages, you will mine.”

Through a series of musings, letters, poems and notes from her diary, Dipa Sanatani takes readers on a globetrotting adventure that celebrates creative entrepreneurship as a spiritual journey. The book has everything—from the journey of her ancestors to her tales as a traveller; from the struggle of a writer to the rise of an artist; from the ecosystem of an employee to the emergence of an entrepreneur—everything. There is pain, struggle, strength and victory.

Evoking both personal experiences and universal themes, The Merchant of Stories shows us that no misstep is ever a mistake. Even the darkest night or the most mundane moment can awaken the soul—The Little Light—that resides inside each and every single one of us. All we have to do is take that first uncertain step and embrace life as one great adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dipa Sanatani
• Release date: Aug 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9789811466403

Dipa Sanatani

Dipa Sanatani is the CEO at Sanatanco. She is the author of The Little Light and The Merchant of Stories. Dipa runs two online platforms: The Mercantile and The Sanatan Chronicle with her editorial team. Originally from Singapore, she spent 12 years working internationally in: Australia, Israel, Japan and China in the private, government and corporate sectors. She sees herself as a humble traveller who has had the tremendous privilege to travel across the Seven Seas with the greatest weapon of all--the gift of words. A gift that can either harm or heal."At Sanatanco, we believe that words are a priceless gift. A gift as valuable as the diamond we either receive or give as a gift to that special someone we want to spend the rest of our lives with. Our words can either tear us apart or bind us together. The choice is ours."

Book preview

1

My Story

6 August 2018

Dearest Dada

It’s me. Your granddaughter. I just boarded the plane at London’s Heathrow Airport. I’m on the flight back home after attending a funeral. It was a harrowing experience—one that reminded me of the fragility and impermanence of life. Our time on this planet is profoundly precious and succinctly short. Our existence as fleeting as a teardrop in a vast ocean.

I’ve lived away from ‘home’ for twelve years now. Many people have called me a nomad, but I don’t think of myself that way. I see myself as a tortoise that carries its home on its back. To me, home is no longer a physical location, but a place in my heart where I am truly free to just be me.

Life has been many things to me over these past twelve years. Some days she was kind and generous and other days she was harsh and inhospitable. In either case, I am proud to say that I’ve navigated all the Seven Seas of the Sun. And I still feel that I haven’t even gotten started.

In spite of all the pain that life can bring, deep down I’ve always believed that the human experience is worth living—that life in all its forms is born of great compassion.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not naïve. I have witnessed the cruelty that resides in the hearts of men. I have encountered dangers, unsavory characters and suffered heartbreak. I have experienced failure, loss and tragedy.

But then again, haven’t we all?

We spend so much of our lives trying to win the rat race. And if we work hard enough and rub shoulders with the right people, we may even succeed. But the taste of that success is never sweet, no matter how hard-earned.

I simply don’t have it in me to define my life’s success playing someone else’s game and following someone else’s rulebook. I don’t have it in me to kick someone down to get ahead or covet that which belongs to another. The futility of it all is astounding. And yet, we humans are caught up in it—oblivious to the fact that all powerful Death lurks around the corner ready to claim it all.

I now understand that life comes with no guarantees. There is risk at the heart of every decision we make. No matter how much we plan things—or not plan anything at all—life’s plans will always take precedence over our own.

I believe that when we come into this world, we are not promised glory, fortune, fame, a happy family or really anything at all.

All we get is the journey. And in these pages, you will find mine.

Love always,

Your Little Light

2

We are Kin

9 August 2018

I honor the faith

Into which I was born

An ancient civilization

That believes

We are all born

Of the same Great Light

We are all connected

To all that was

To all that is

And to all that will be

Sanatani

The eternal

The endless

The everlasting

That which never dies

That which has no beginning

And no end

I enter the Mother Temple

Which honors

That which brings life into the world

I get on my knees

And bring my head to the hard floor

The land of my ancestors

The land where I was born

I honor the arduous journey it took

So that I may be here

So that I may receive

The breath of life

Past, present and future

All interwoven into this moment

A moment

From which life springs forth

In its full glorious display

Only to turn to dust once more

Our histories all

Intertwined

Culminating in a future

That can never be foretold

I honor the stars

That have guided me

That were watching over me

As I was ushered into this world

And that still watch over me

With each footstep I take

I, but a fragment,

Of something far greater than myself

The Great Adventure of Life

In which we are all a Little Light

A spark of all of creation

Emanating from the same Great Light

Perfectly orchestrated

In a tapestry of Destiny’s long red thread

Where we are all One

Where we are all Kin.

3

Arab Street, Singapore

9 September 2018

I return to the alleys of my childhood. The meandering lanes of shophouses, eateries, and hidden treasures bring back the old stories—the ones my elders told me as I sat on their knees. Growing up, I had no idea that Arab Street would one day be part of Singapore's heritage trail.

To me, it was just home.

And in a way, it still is. I may not live on Arab Street anymore, but the old stories, they live on in my heart; each memory a treasured relic of a world gone by. I shake my head whenever I find myself telling tales that begin with, During my great-great grandfather's time, this place was…

Oh dear... I'm going to be that aunt. The one who tells grandfather stories.

Five generations ago, we were here living our lives and creating the histories that would go down in my home city's heritage. And yet my story remains untold. Perhaps one day I will share that tale with the world; how my ancestors came to Singapore on a steamer, and never returned 'home'.

In many ways, I am still that kid, the one who walked through the alleyways amazed at the secret things that all the shopkeepers sold.

And in other ways, I couldn't be more different.

I've been around the world now, but the alleys of my childhood will always be special. I carry the old stories and memories with me wherever I go.

The old perfume sellers that sold oils in intricate and ornate bottles. The uncle down the street who sold biscuits by weight. The chaiwala whose tea is still the best I’ve ever had. No one has ever matched up.

The landscape of Singapore is different now. Modern buildings scratch the skyline with a pomp and display that wasn't there in days gone by. Old and new come together to create a modern Singapore that was still in the process of being made as I grew up.

After twelve years abroad, I rediscover my home and notice everything that's changed, and everything that has remained the same.

My Singapore. My home. How could I have missed you without even realizing it? It's good to create new memories after such a long hiatus.

Oh, dear God, at long last—thank you for bringing me home.

4

You Are Mine

29 September 2018

I believe that every artist is born with a muse by its side. They whisper in our ears and awaken that tiny spark which ignites and grows into a fire that can never be vanquished.

In Greek Mythology, the ancient writers would appeal to the Muses before they began the arduous art of creation. In both the Iliad and the Odyssey, Homer appeals to the muses to aid him as he narrates the stories that have come down to modern times through the ages.

I believe it is not the artist that chooses the muse—but rather, the muse who chooses the artist. The Muses are the original inventors, whilst we humans are their vessels.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I can hear my muse whispering tenderly in my ear. There is a story that wants to be told, and I'm merely its chosen vessel.

I am Little Light and the whole world will know my stories.

5

Clark Quay, Singapore

17 October 2018

I know, I know. I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus with this diary. And it’s not because I’ve been lazy with my writing or anything like that. I’ve actually been working on a novel that I’ve been meaning to write for close to...err…four years now.

The idea came to me when I was lying in bed in my apartment in Japan. I sketched the whole concept out in a notebook and then forgot all about it. But that was then and this is now.

I’m proud to say that the novel is…done!

It’s a retelling of ancient myths for the modern era. A modern myth. Not sure if such a thing exists, but I’m calling it that. It’s the second fantasy book I’ve completed. It’s around 32,000 words and I’ve sent it to editors who are currently combing through it with their red pen. Fun stuff.

I’m still working on the book blurb for the back. Right now, my brain is fried but I have faith it’ll all come together soon.

I haven’t written anything ‘creative’ in years so I surprised myself and the people around me with the suddenness with which the words flowed out of me. I’d start writing around 10pm each day and finish up at 3am. I’d sleep, wake up, and spend the day at the library doing research for my book.

Believe it or not, we fiction writers don’t make things up out of thin air. Everything comes from something.

My body clock is a bit off right now, but it’ll readjust once I’m back into the swing of things.

Whatever that means…

The past few months have been a bit of a whirlwind. I’m in between countries, in between jobs, in between lives, and in between well… just about everything. After leading a very structured and responsible life as an educator in Japan for close to four years, my world is in chaos.

I can’t say the past couple of months have been easy, but I’m not looking back either.

As a treat to celebrate the completion of my novel, I got a shiatsu massage and then went for a sushi dinner at Liang Court in Clark Quay. Back in Japan, it was a fortnightly solo date that I took myself on. More people should take themselves out on dates. It’s a lovely experience. I kind of miss my ‘routine comforts’ in Japan.

I’m homesick for a place that isn’t my home.

Ah well, I guess I’m a tortoise—I carry my home with me on my back and take it with me wherever I go.

6

Zhejiang, China

5 November 2018

Pinch me. Seriously, just pinch me. Am I really here? Am I really living here?

As of two days ago, China is officially my ‘new home’. This decision surprised me far more than it did the people around me. To them, it was just another country in a long list of countries I had either visited or lived in.

But to me it was China; one of the ancient civilizations of the