A trip back home and some gifts for you!

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You must be thinking where the heck did I disappear after showing my  face for a little. Well, we are packing again. Mmm hmm.. again! I returned a week back, got a few good news and boom! back to reality. Back to the trips to Home Depot, brown boxes and measuring tapes and to a room full of things most of which I never used but still packing them. You may have heard me say this before but I am going to say this anyway - "packing sucks and packing to move sucks even more!" I'm doing all this staring at the light on the other side of the tunnel where I'll be moving back to California. Not that I don't like Charlotte but California is where my heart belongs I guess. That's where we made our first home as a new couple and created a new life for us thousands of miles away from our real home!



Our recent trip back to the real home a week back was great too. Its always good to see family and seeing them after years and specially after some of the most defining years of life, it was amazing and emotional!



I was surprised to see how much has changed in these few years though. Tall buildings have taken place of the open fields. These funny milk machines have taken place of doodhwalas (milkman) who would come every morning to give milk and mom would complain everyday that he's added more water to the milk today!



But some things never change. Like my grandfather's century old table fan, which now doesn't even work but still has a reputed place in the house.



Like the smell of freshly baked breads by the local baker sitting in his stall by the street.



Like the sparkling, colorful bangles of chooriwala (bangle sellers).



Like the smell of henna (Indian version of temporary tattoo).



and like the mango leaf toran (garland hung on the doors, considered sacred) outside every Indian house and tiny shops.

They never change and they never fail to make you nostalgic even with the mere thought of them! This trip turned out to be all we had expected it to be! But what we never expected was how well the little one took all the changes she had to adjust to in a month's time.



She loved morning walks with her dadu (grandpa).



The cousins met and kinda got along!



Although the gatekeeper was not as happy with her but she couldn't care less. This trip was supposed to be all about her and she made the most of every opportunity she got. Ate cookies for breakfast, chocolates for lunch and ice cream for dinner! Do I still need to say that she had a good time? So now I and A are detoxing her and keeping her away from all the "good" things and closer to all things "green" as much as possible.
I have so many stories and memories from this one trip and I'll keep sharing them with you but I have something else that I want to share with you too. Some gifts I got for you from India. Some tiny little tokens of love and a few bits of India for you. Consider this my Mother's Day gift to you!



First thing I got for you is something that is considered sacred and can be called a rosary for hindus. It is called Rudraksha beads. You can learn a little bit about it here. It is believed to have medicinal benefits too and it is claimed that wearing rudraksha beads is good for heart.

P.S - I tried my best to get the best rudrakhsha beads that I could find but I don't claim them to be real bead since I am neither a jeweler nor an astrologer. I've bought it as an accessory and not a medicinal cure.

Then a food blogger needs to get some kind of food right? Due to strict custom rules I couldn't bring all the delicacies I tried there but still managed to sneak in some Indian version of peanut brittle for you. We call it chikki in India and I promise you'll love it!



Then I found these coasters with beautiful carved metal on them. They looked cute so I got one for myself and one for you.



The last thing I got for you is this cute little ethnic Indian decoration on the right. You can hang it on your door or find a tiny little place in your house to decorate them. 



Every time I give something away I tend to neglect the lovely supporters of Indian Simmer on Facebook and Twitter who have slowly become close friends of mine. So this time I thought I'll organize a giveaway for everyone. Please read the steps carefully to get a chance to win what you really like out of the three items.

1. If you would like to win the Rudraksha beads and a box of Indian style peanut brittle, then please leave a comment here stating that.
2. If you "like" Indian Simmer on Facebook then leave a comment here stating that and get a chance to win the 4-piece coaster set with silver carving on it.
3. If you "follow" Indian Simmer on Twitter then leave a comment here stating that and get a chnace to win the ethnic Indian decoration.
4. If you already follow Indian Simmer on facebook, twitter and subscribe to its emails then please leave a comment stating that to get a gift of your choice.

Entries are open until 10th May 11:59 pm EST. Winners will be announced on 11th May. This giveaway is open only to US addresses, so if you have an address in the United States or a friend with a US address then you are eligible.