A Dinner in My Honor

I moved to Michigan in 2009 and became fast friends with a truly amazing woman. Pratima and Wayne have worked together for years and she has shown me nothing but kindness since I arrived. Pratima was raised in India and is still very strong in her culture. She's married to one of the funniest and most kind men I have ever met, Samar. They are actually expecting their first grandchild this week, but wait til you see what she did for me.

Just a little background first: Before Pratima and Samar had ever met me, they planned a wedding shower for Wayne and I opening their beautiful home for all of Wayne's friends and coworkers to come and share the occasion with us. We had a wonderful time and their hospitality won them much favor in my book. I honestly had never had anyone show me such kindness and instant acceptance.

Well, Pratima invited us to her home for a dinner party this past week and little did I know that I'd be the guest of honor. We had just been told that a few couples would be joining us for the evening. When we arrived and were greeted at the door, the aroma of authentic Indian cuisine filled our senses. It smelled wonderful! As we sat and waited for other guests to arrive, we enjoyed talking about the upcoming new additions to each of our families. Then Pratima told me that she wanted to serve me in traditional Indian fashion. She explained that in their culture, they don't give gifts to the child before he or she is born, but rather they honor the mother. The gifts for the infant come later after the birth. She explained that at the table, she would serve me with a dish of the 5 fried vegetables and then she would have small dished surrounding the plate for me to taste.

When we entered the dining room, there was only one place set and there were my 5 fried vegetables and rice on the main dish with several dishes surrounding it. Once everyone sat down, it was explained to me that there were only 2 rules to follow for the order in which I ate. I was to eat the rice pudding to my far right first and eat the mango chutney to my far left last. Let me tell you, that chutney was AMAZING!!!

I couldn't believe all of the trouble Pratima had gone through for me when she has a grandchild due this week, but that's the kind of woman she is. She's a giver and I feel truly blessed to have her in my life. Thank you Pratima and I mustn't forget Samar!

Here are a couple of pictures that were taken that night. I really wish I had taken my camera in with me, but I didn't so one of the dinner guests took pictures and Pratima brought them to Wayne at work for me. I had to use my camera to take a picture of them to load on here, so they aren't the best quality, but at least I get to share them with you. (By the way, I'm not responsible for cutting to top of Samar's head from the frame. One of his friends did that. Poor guy!)