More Friends And Family

Visiting with Sekar at the Balajis.
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During our final week in Madras, we met with another couple that are old family friends - the Balajis.  They were neighbors in Ranchi when the boys were kids and have since moved to Madras, so it was great to meet them and hear some fun stories about young Sishir and Sirish.  Balaji was Sishir's basketball coach so he was thrilled to learn that once upon a time I knew my way around a court.  They also brought out the photo albums...turns out my husband sported a wispy moustache when he was 16.  Sexy?  No.  Hysterical?  Yes.  Alas I don't have a copy to post on the blog, although it's probably a good thing for my marriage.

Balaji Uncle.
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Of course we had the requisite feast; everyone we've met has given us fabulous food.  Mangla gave us a tote bag that was just the thing for Thailand beachgoing (although she didn't know it at the time).  And the next day, their daughter Deepa called from Singapore to say hi to me and invite us to stop and visit them the next time we come to India.  Such a sweet thing to do!

Next up was a visit to the Subramanis.  They are the parents of Dinesh, Sishir's good friend in San Diego.  We met them and their other son, Vishwa, who is a dead ringer for his brother.  He not only looks like him, he sounds EXACTLY like him.  If I had closed my eyes I would have sworn I was talking to Dinesh.  It was funny and slightly freaky.  His mom fed us mangos which were as delicious as Dinesh said they would be.  I bet he's jealous just reading this.  I ate quite a few in his name.  Tee hee.  They are planning a trip to the States - their first - later this summer so we had a great time chatting and hopefully gave them a little bit of an idea of how life is in America.

I have no idea what's going on here, but the pic is funny to me.
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Our final stop was at Aunt Priya's.  We continue to surprise each other - her at our house, and us at hers - since they only live a few blocks from Sekar and Chitra.  And every time we stop by I make her take a picture even though she is not dressed for the occasion.  It got to be a running joke - finally we had an official lunch with them and got a picture which everyone was prepared for.  Whew!