 |
| Bathinda School girls show Frances Levine and Steve Cox of Ohio's Rio Grande University their henna (mendhi) decorations at the Chandigarh Museum. |
New Mexico's India Connection
Ask most people about their dream vacation, and more than a few would likely seek a lazy week on a beach or at an elegant spa. The vacation I took last month in Northern India may not have been relaxing in a luxury-resort sense, but it was a fulfilling experience.
It all began with an email from Sarab Nihal Singh, a friend and colleague from my days as an assistant dean at the Santa Fe Community College. His company and the Nihal Foundation were sponsoring a conference on teacher-training and awarding scholarships to village youths.
He asked me to join the conference, with support generously provided by the Nihal Foundation. After, we traveled throughout the Punjab, visiting museums and colleges, along with several of the remote villages where the foundation is sponsoring education scholarships and online employment for village youth.
My visit to Amritsar, home of the Golden Temple, was deeply moving. The temple is a place I had seen often in photographs, but hearing the kirtan (prayers from the Sikh sacred book, the Guru) sung to the accompaniment of a tabla and harmonium there was something I will never forget.
It's rather amazing to think of the many connections that exist between New Mexico and the Punjab, many of which resulted from the spiritual work of Siri Singh Sahib (Yogi Bhajan) and Bhai Sahiba Dr. Inderjit Kaur Khalsa (Bibiji), who began the Guru Ram Das Ashram in Española in the 1970s. Their outreach work not only helps us understand the need to educate the whole person-mind, body and spirit-but has also connected New Mexicans to India.
In the three weeks that I was there, I experienced a deep connection to people, places and, of course, the cuisine. These connections are so deeply felt that I believe they came from my heart. Or was it that the feelings were released from my very own soul? I am sure there is a little bit of truth in both of these answers.
About the Author: Dr. Frances Levine has been director of the New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors since 2002, overseeing the development and construction of the newest museum in the Museum of New Mexico system. She the author, co-editor or contributor to several award-winning books, including "Our Prayers Are in This Place: Pecos Pueblo Identity over the Centuries" (1999, UNM Press)