People come to San Miguel de Allende for the “year-round spring-like climate” touted in brochures, for the colonial architecture, or to join the community of artists and intellectuals who already live here. No place in Mexico is easier on immigrants. In fact, many would say that coming to live here isn’t really coming to live in Mexico at all. Five thousand native English speakers and thousands more ESL Mexicanos make learning Spanish unnecessary. Some call San Miguel de Allende “Mexico Lite.”

Personally, I’d rather plunge into Mexican life, speaking bad but improving Spanish, attending bautizas and quinceaneras, reading Juan Rulfo.

At least one person has come here to find—not Mexico—but India. Chicago transplant Brett is consummating her love of the subcontinent by building her little bit of India: Shanti.

Driving out the Doctor Mora Road, I knew I was nearing Shanti when I ran across a cantera Ganesh meditating in front of a nopal.

Shanti is a day spa, an oasis where visitors can seek respite from the social and cultural whirl of San Miguel.

An alcove beside the pool offers games and books.

A shaded rooftop invites meditation or scrabble, your pick. Yoga classes are held two mornings a week. Two rooms contain carved Indian massage tables. A small shop offers Indian fabrics and art.

Water flowing in a small garden provides welcome contrast to the arid semi-desert of the surrounding Bahio.

A friend invited us to meet with her for a late Sunday lunch at Masala, Shanti’s Indian restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised to find good, authentic Indian cuisine in Mexico—aloo korma, channa masala, thali, garlic naan. The day I visited, the banana-cardamom lassie wasn’t available—a minor disappointment. To compensate, I imbibed two mango lassies.

Brett says “I’m all about India.” Unable to make a life in India, she brought the feel of India to Mexico: the mountain to Mohammed.

It’s said that people come to San Miguel to reinvent themselves. The place exudes an energy that enables some—among them Brett—to turn their dreams into reality.