**Punya Upadhyaya**, co-founder and board member of **Hindus for Human Rights** spoke on **Non-Duality**

On Saturday, June 28, 2025, the pop-up gallery at El Sendero Inn in Santa Fe became a site of vivid imagination and warm reflection as community members gathered for “Art + Conversation: Chai & Chat with Punya Upadhyaya” The event featured the luminous works of artists Amita Bhakta and Shailesh Joshi, whose paintings—layered with symbolism, spirit, and story—invited viewers into quiet contemplation and lively dialogue.

As visitors wandered through the gallery, admiring everything from meditative bodhisattvas and riverside visions to radiant feminine figures and layered dreamscapes, the space slowly filled with the scent of chai and the hum of conversation.

At the heart of the evening was a spirited talk led by Punya Upadhyaya, co-founder and board member of Hindus for Human Rights. Framed as “Fun with God: India’s Non-Duality,” Punya’s conversation invited attendees to explore the playful and paradoxical nature of the divine in Indian spiritual traditions. Drawing from centuries of non-dual philosophy, devotional art, and lived experience, Punya offered a fresh, progressive take on how we relate to divinity, each other, and ourselves.

The event was free and open to all—and the inclusive spirit was palpable. Artists, activists, art lovers, and the simply curious gathered shoulder to shoulder, sipping tea and engaging in wide-ranging conversations about religion, art, identity, and justice.

With chai in hand and color all around, this afternoon reminded us how deeply interconnected aesthetics and ethics can be—and how art spaces can nurture not just appreciation, but transformation.