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Sonia Chopra
Susan Levy toyed with scores of Jewish names for her yet unborn daughter 24 years ago before she zeroed in on an Indian name, Chandra. Perhaps her abiding interest in India and the Bhagvad Gita had something to do with that decision.
"Chandra means higher than the moon and the stars. She's really great," says Levy as she talks of her daughter Chandra Ann Levy, who has been missing for over three weeks now. Chandra's story has been splashed across national newspapers, particularly after her name was linked to a congressman from her home state California.
"I just want my daughter alive and to come home safe so that our family can be complete," says Levy in a phone interview.
The 5-foot-3, 110-pound student with thick black curly hair and hazel eyes went missing in Washington, DC, where she was finishing a six-month internship at the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Chandra, whose father Robert Levy is a prominent oncologist in Modesto, California, (Susan is a dedicated community organizer), was last seen on April 30 at the Washington Sports Club near her apartment in Dupont Circle.
She was preparing to return home to attend her graduate school commencement ceremony at the University of Southern California and receive her master's degree in public health.
The Washington police found her identification, credit cards and cell phone in her apartment, but her keys were missing.
Her parents spend their days between their home in Modesto, where they and their neighbours have put up yellow ribbons and fliers with their daughter's photograph, and Washington, where they meet law enforcement officers and elected representatives.
They pray for the safe return of their only daughter, both privately and in the glare of the national media.
While Susan is a Jew, she has spent years searching Eastern and Western religions for spiritual answers. Chandra too has been drawn to India.
"The Bible says 'the truth will set you free' and that's what I want now. We are in agony and I want to know where my daughter is," she says.
Her faith in God is holding her together and she is grateful for the support she has received and the prayers for Chandra in churches and Hindu temples.
The Dalai Lama, who visited northern California last week, asked Buddhist monks to pray for Chandra.
"It is often tragedy that brings us together because we are all mothers and fathers," notes Susan.
"No mother should ever have to go through this and I hope the prayers of all the faiths, all the force of nature will have an impact," she says.
In the past weeks, through her erratic meals and sleepless nights, she's been constantly reminded of her month-long odyssey in India four years ago, where she'd travelled in search of spiritual enlightenment.
"My friend told me it was a dangerous place if you don't know your way around. The trip had its ups and downs and there was uncertainty," she recalls.
She'd also gone to collect material for her book, whose working title is Life is An Illusion, or Is It?
She had hoped to publish it soon, but for now, except for successfully tracing her beloved daughter, everything else is insignificant and irrelevant for Susan Levy.
As she puts it philosophically, spirituality lies not in places but in people.
While the Levys focus on their daughter, their neighbours hover around them protectively. Janet Neal, who lives directly across from the Levys, is co-ordinating meals for the couple whom she describes as being "exhausted" from the commuting between California and Washington, DC, and "drained" by the ordeal.
"We just want to support them and let them know we care. I wish we could do more," says Neal.
Barbara Bolton, who has known the family since she moved into the neighbourhood 16 years ago, has a special relationship with them. "Seven years ago, when I discovered I had breast cancer, Dr Levy treated me and I am still his patient. It's a terrible thing to happen to any parent, not knowing where their daughter is or what happened," she says.
"When I heard the news, I just went up to him and put my arms around him and said 'I am sorry'."
Friends, family, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congressman Gary Condit's office are offering a $30,000 reward for any information leading to Chandra's safe return.
The family has created a Web site, www.findchandra.com and are updating it regularly.
Anyone with information about her whereabouts may call:
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