Miss India New Jersey Learned to Treasure Her Heritage

April 29, 2007

Author: Carrie Stetler

Source: The Star-Ledger

http://www.nj.com/living/ledger/index.ssf?/base/living-0/117782141118923...

Miss India New Jersey jokes affectionately with the Sikh guys in turbans and baggy Ecco jeans.

Their elaborately cool greetings amuse her.

"The ghetto handshake," she says with a giggle.

Amritpal Sidhu doesn't giggle much -- at least not when she's in role-model mode.

An aspiring investment banker and a Sikh herself, she's given to passionate speeches about the importance of culture and tradition. She scolds Indian classmates at Fairleigh Dickinson University for forgetting their heritage or partying too much.