Ophthalmic surgeon Dr Kuresh B Zorabi last met Rivka Holtzberg a little more than a week ago.

They met in front of the tiny Rex Bakery, which is owned by Dr Zorabi's family and is located directly opposite Nariman House in Colaba in south Mumbai.

"She asked me why we didn't bake pita bread at the bakery. I said well you give me the ingredients of the recipe and I will make it. She said she would need 500 pieces because they always had a lot of people over for their gatherings."

The Zorabis, who have been running a 24-hour bakery for around seven decades, were the Holtzbergs' nearest neighbours on the narrow Rajwadkar Street. The Holtzbergs regularly bought paav (Mumbai-style buns) from Rex. They would usually send their help to pick it up. And Dr Zorabi often bumped into one or both Holtzbergs in the quiet lane they shared, would wave or make a bit of polite conversation.

Image: Shimon Rosenberg, center, prays during a memorial ceremony for his daughter Rivka and her husband Gavriel Holtzberg who were killed in the Nariman House attack. Photograph: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

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