My experience of Sobhag and family,
By Oana Hughes
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Sobhag is how warm and welcoming he and his family really are. From weddings to birthdays and everything in between, I was lucky enough to be part of them all. Every experience has been one to remember.
I first met Sobhag and his family some twenty years ago, when I first moved to London. In the many years that I have gotten to know Sobhag I have learnt so much, not only about the family but also about the lovely culture that they all share.
Myself and my daughter were thrilled to receive an invitation to join Sobhag and his family on a journey to Mumbai. I remember my first impression of the food, culture and the beauty that the country had to offer. I was fascinated by it all, It was an experience that I will never forget.
The sights, the heat and let’s not forget the food! The extraordinary food, the crowded back streets of Mumbai and the beautifully exotic surrounding nature.
It was combination of flavours and spices from a completely new world to me. I loved some straight away, while others took a while to settle with my palette… Nevertheless, in years to come, I become passionate about cooking Indian cuisine. Nowadays I like to impress my friends and family with the culinary skills acquired through exposure to the Indian culture, and not forgetting to mention Anju’s advice in the kitchen.
Over the years, our friendship grew, and I had the pleasure to invite Sobhag and his lovely wife Anju to one of our celebrations, in Romania. My husband John and I were asked to be god parents at the wedding of our lovely friends Cristi and Arianne.
I was so impressed at how quickly Sobhag and Anju embraced our traditions. All of our family and friends were very pleased to have met the both of them. To this day there is talk of the wonderful dishes he had the chance to cook but also for his kindness and genuinely humble approach.
Let’s not forget the outfits that Sobhag and Anju wore to the wedding, I of course had to join in with a beautiful white sari that the family gifted me. It was the “talk of the town” for weeks after. Sobhag and Anju looked amazing, certainly standing out from the crowd.
Sobhag has always been a generous man, a caring man and an amazing person. I have many things to thank him for, but I am more grateful to be calling him a friend.
I feel that my friendship with Sobhag has enabled me to learn a great deal of things. I’ve learnt to be proud but humble, strong but flexible, wiser yet still eager to learn.
The Hughes family would like to wish Sobhag a happy birthday, may years of happiness and health to come, we hope to attend many more amazing parties and to enjoy every minute as I have personally always felt like one of the family.