Catching up in 2013 - Part 1

Its 2013! I went to India (Pune primarily) on December 16th this time without my husband & kids.  It was a hard decision since I was never away from the kids for Christmas but this year wanted to spend some time with my parents, decompress & attend a conference in Chennai. Tickets were way to expensive for the time that the family could all go without taking the kids out of school for a longer period of time.
The trip started with a lot of sad news from my husband's family.  His young brother had an untimely & unfortunate end on Dec 10th after an illness. DH (dear husband) was able to spend some time with him in October which was a big relief for all of us.  Then 10 days later my sister-in-law (whose husband passed on) lost her mother to an illness.  So I got to see what grief was very closely.  It just seems impossible for my sister-in-law to surmount this tragedy, and I pray that she finds comfort and allows her recovery to begin.
I had a wonderful time with my parents - quiet & peaceful, visiting their doctors, walking around town with them, visiting other dear family & friends with them.

I got to meet friends & family whom I had not seen in 20+ years & then others whom I always meet but could not this time.
Every morning I experienced a taste of heaven when Lata, who makes breakfast & cleans for my parents would arrive at 8:30 and make us a hot breakfast at super speed.  Seeing how much I enjoyed my food she would make chapatis (whole wheat Indian bread/roti) and would not have it any other way but transferring it straight from the hot griddle to my plate!

On this plate you can chapatis, flaxseed chutney (dark one) and a coconut+green chilli chutney.
I enjoyed various seasonal fruits & vegetables - totally organic & by the way organic is cheap in India! Food is fresh & so flavorful!  I enjoyed going to fruit & vegetable shopping with my dad this time.

This is a "Bor" - its sweet with texture closest to an apple.

This is the most delicious - sweetest-ever pomegranate! It came cleaned & ready to eat in this container for 25 rupees, roughly half an US dollar!
And then there was the chikoo - shown below - a sweet & unique fruit!

And the most delicious guavas...

Had chana-bhatura (chickpeas & fried bread) at Mona Food, a restaurant that had many childhood memories of eating there with my parents.  We enjoyed this dish with my Dad's cousin & best friend  Viju Kaka & his wife Kusum Kaku. Talked a long time reminiscing about old times!!

This is going to be a long picture-filled blog and I promise will continue it soon...