My host in Nagpur

I have a wonderful host family here in Nagpur.  My host, Pramod, is a mechanical engineer and lives with his wife, who is a wonderful cook and his son and daughter who are both in their twenties and software engineers.  We are close to the city center but far enough from the major roads as to remain quiet and peaceful.  The 3-bedroom flat is on the lowest floor of a 6-story building and there are lovely gardens that wrap around three sides of the building, a nice patch of grass and a little pond with some small fish.  It is a perfect spot in the morning for a cup of chai and some biscuits.  There is a nice swing in the back on which I enjoy doing some reading in the evening.  I have been eating plenty of local dishes and some dishes that we never see in Seattle.  I especially love the puran puri, a flatbread stuffed with pulse and sugar syrup and cooked in plenty of butter. Indian hospitality is without equal but not so good for our waistlines.

Host family (daughter Shruti is taking picture)

My host and our morning chai spot

I am lucky to be in a house that has a son and daughter residing here so I can talk with them at length about growing up here along with Indian values, friendships, relationships, future plans, etc. The mornings are nice and relaxed.  We have chai and biscuits outside around 8am then a full breakfast around 9:45. The workdays get started around 10am and go until 6:30 or so in the evening.  Lunch is usually around 2 or 2:30 and dinner is not until 9 or 10pm. Nagpur is located in the geographic center of India and our house is not far from the "Zero Mile" monument.  All road mile markers start at zero from this spot.

Zero Mile Monument in Nagpur