I never met an East Indian person before I moved to Houston in 1988. So over the next 16 years I watched, interested but from a distance, stumbling to pronounce the many names in the phone book like Canawljit, Balihar or Saroya.

Trying to converse with some of my Punjabi customers was downright challenging (especially with my poor listening skills). My frustration was often reflected on their faces. It wasn't until that first taste of authentic India cuisine that I began to realize I needed to learn more about this culture.

It was June 1970 when our first East Indian resident, Gurmukh Singh Parhar, arrived in Houston with his family to work at the new sawmill. Pleased with the good wages, and finding the rural community friendly and similar in its remoteness to their native state of Punjab in East India, the Parhars called for others to come. By 1980 there were sixty families settled in Houston.

Wanting to fit into their new surroundings, many of the men opted to cut their hair ( which is against the Sikh faith) and only wear their traditional kurtha and pajama when at home or during their religious services. Eager to Canadian-ize, they took english-speaking classes and two members joined the ambulance and fire department services. The women put aside their beautifully colored salwars and kameez and bought "regular clothes." They fit in as best they could, but eating Canadian food was something else altogether.