Back from a short trip to US

I had been to US on a short business trip and I got a chance to meet many of my friends. Some of the common questions from them, were - How is life there in India? Is it difficult to get adjusted? Are you thinking of coming back? Your wife/kid liking it there? Some of them were trying to solidify their R2I plans by asking such questions and others were trying to collect ammunition to justify their continued stay in America. I can empathize with all of them. Though I had always wanted to return back to India, it took a long time for me to just 'pull the plug'.

I didn't try to camouflage the living conditions in India. I told everyone "India hasn't changed much. In order to R2I, you really need to have a strong passion and determination. Otherwise, R2I attempt would be a failure". India hasn't changed much - the roads are bad, traffic is horrible, pollution everywhere, dealing with government is painful, you've to wait anywhere you go, punctuality isn't valued,
you've to work for long hours and it goes on and on. However, there are certain things that are special to India - Staying with/closer to parents, attending weddings/functions, celebrating festivals,
 meeting people regularly (actually often!), abundant house hold help, kids getting a lot of support from grand parents, etc., I didn't want to paint a rosy picture to my friends about R2I. I just wanted to give them the facts.

I visited some of the places that I normally go to - Great Mall, Frys, Walmart, Safeway, SCUMBAT & TGIF Toastmasters, Milpitas Jain Temple, Rivermark Plaza etc., Yes... the roads are clean, the shopping malls are huge, there are lots of friends, life-style is good. But still, USA looked very alien to me. I was literally counting my days to go back to India and live with my family. May be, I'm telling my conscience that 'These grapes are sour'. But, I feel that it is right.

I reached India on the 17th of Dec. By the time, I reached home it was 4am. My wife opened the doors for me. I went to the bedroom to see my daughter. She woke up on hearing me stepping into the room and got very excited. She ran to me and hugged with lots of passion. She said "Dad ! I missed you". My excess joy showed up as tears on my eyes.

Also read:

100 reasons to Return to India (R2I)
10 things to know before your R2I