I'm not worried about India's growth

My day starts when the birds start to chirp and when sun pulls-off its covers. Everyday morning, when the clock strikes 8, I leave my home to work. I couldn't resist making observations on what goes around me. The whole city gets fired up very early in the morning - the lady who knits flowers and sells them on the sides of the street; autorickshaw drivers eagerly waiting for customers; man who irons dresses on his road-side cart; hotel wallas preparing bajjis and rotis infront of their hotel; mobile eateries circled by loads of low-income people; people who walk/bike/drive to work carrying their tiffn boxes; government workers cleaning up the streets and loading piles of trash into vehicles; share-autos squeezing people like honey comb; college/school students waiting for their private buses; bus stops filled with regular commuters; and private vans loading tons of school kids. Boy... what a pleasure to watch all these. I'm so glad that people are working hard. I could clearly see that people are spending a lot too. The wheels of the economy spins around because of all these people. Every hand in the country gives a little push to this giant wheel. No wonder why India's GDP is growing strong and steady. I'm so happy that people don't hesitate to learn new things and work hard. People don't expect the government to come and help them. People solve their own problems.

With this people's force at play, nobody can stop the growth of India.

The OCI Hoopla

Its 6 months since my daughter landed in India. I had to apply for PIO Card Registration for her. I thought why shouldn't I apply for OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India). I read pages and pages of nitty gritty details from FRRO website, carefully jotted down all the stuff that I've to collect and gathered loads of documents. I went to the bank and obtained a Demand Draft for Rs.1,290. I took my daughter to a photo studio to take Passport size photos. I then went to the Regional Passport Office to handover the OCI application form. I waited there for an hour and then learned that my daughter is not eligible for OCI because she is a minor & my wife/I do not hold US Passport. I got completely frustrated because the FAQ or other documentation in the FRRO website didn't explain it clearly. It looks like I can get an OCI for my daughter only after she reaches 18.

Though I was disappointed, I decided to atleast do the PIO registration. I had all the original docs with me. I filled the application form, took some photocopies of passport and stood in the line again. They asked me to write a requesition letter. I don't understand why they want me to write a requesition letter, since I had already filled the application form with all the details. I waited for another 1/2 hour to learn that I cannot give my passport as address proof for my daughter. The processing officer (a lady, who wasn't courteous at all) said I've to bring a phone bill or EB bill. I didn't have either of them. I came back home, completely frustrated.

I went to the bank (State Bank of India) to cancel my DD. They asked me to write a 'Requesition Letter' and get a Rs.1 revenue stamp. I really don't understand the purpose of both the revenue stamp & the requesition letter. Anyways, I got both and took it to the Bank manager. He collected all the docs + the DD and said, it will take some time and asked me to take a 'token' and wait in the queue. I took the 'token' and waited for about 30 minutes in the queue. When my coupon number was called, I went to the teller's counter. The lady in the counter said that the manager had gone out and I have to wait for him. I waited for another 30 minutes and lost my patience completely. All the folks in the queue were serviced. I was the only one left out. I went to the teller again and asked her how long it would take for the manager to come back. She said he'll come back soon (the same response she gave me previously). However, she said she can process the application for me. She took the application letter from the manager's office and processed it for me. If I had not gone back to the teller again, I would've waited for another 30 minutes or so for the manager to come back. The manager wasn't courteous enough to let me know that he is stepping out and it would take some time for him to process the application. Otherwise, I would've atleast gone back home and come back. I had a really bad experience at SBI, Gill Nagar branch.

I gathered some address proof documents in the evening and sent my wife to the Passport Office, the next day to submit the PIO card registration application + docs. They've accepted the documents. Hopefully, my daughter would get her PIO card registered without any issues. We've to wait and see.

Recommended Reading:

Extending stay of a PIO card holder

Share Autos - Boon or Bane?

One of the biggest inventions of this century to solve people's commute problems is 'share autos'. You can see them almost everywhere. There is a lot of interesting stuff to share about share autos.

The drivers of share autos can patent "How to squeeze 13 people into an auto rickshaw that is legally entitled to carry just 5 people". They can throw people into every nook and corner. If you are overweight, don't worry. You'll get squeezed to half your original size. "All men & women are treated equal" in share autos. Irrespective of whether you are a man or women, rich or poor, young or old, lean or stout, tall or short - you get the same treatment. You have to squeeze yourself into that 1 feet slot given to you to sit.

Share autos are also incubating a cultural change in our society. Unknown men & women wouldn't share a seat in public transports (like buses). But, in share autos women and men sit close to each other without complaints.

Share autos compete with our local MTC (Metropolitan Transports Corporation) buses in all possible ways. In old days, MTC buses used to stop when you wave your hand at the bus - no matter where you are. But, MTC buses now stop only in designated bus stops. Share autos fill the gap. Just wave your hand & the autos will stop right close to you. At times, share autos wait at or near bus stops to drop/board passengers. You can see the MTC bus drivers getting annoyed & honking non-stop. Share autos are also eating into the market share of 'regular' auto drivers. Share auto drivers know how to maneuver the vehicle in busy traffic, which at times is a threat to pedestrians & to folks who ride cycles/bikes.

Though I'm happy that I have a good option to commute to work, I'm very sad that our government cannot solve our commute problem in better ways. I'm not sure how safe it is to overload that little metal box that runs on our roads. I would not be surprised if someday, we see air-conditioned & bigger share autos.

Also read:

Driving on Indian roads - Pleasure or Pain?    

Two Wheeler Service Experience

Heavy Rain made Chennai into Venice

R2I Checklist - 25 things to do

Good to know that you are thinking of Returning to India (R2I). R2I is indeed a hard decision and requires meticulous planning. (Also read: R2I Planning Guide) There are lots of things to take care of, during R2I. This blog post makes your R2I planning, easier. It captures the list of things to do before your move to India.You can treat this as your Return to India (R2I) checklist.

1. Join the R2I Club Forums. This has lots of useful discussions on returning back to India. You can also look at Garamchai.com, which is a portal for Indians in US, and also has a number of R2I related articles/blogs.

2. Start preparing a to do list. You may not be able to get all the things in one shot. Keep updating the to do list as & when you remember/realize that something was missed out.

3. Start looking for a job in India. Update your resume & circulate it through your contacts. You should *get* a job before moving to India. A person in US who is moving to India would get a better treatment/package when compared to the local-ites. Many folks may have the question - what is the right pay? A rough ball-park is "You should get at least 1/3rd of what you are getting in US". The package varies significantly based on the city, your interview performance, your negotiation skills etc., So, talk to your friends in India to get ball parks. (Also read: List of MNCs (Product & Software) Companies in Chennai)

4. Tell your employer about your move. When to inform your employer is a tough question to answer. It depends :) I told my employer the next day after I decided to move back. They were very co-operative through-out the process & they helped me to the extent possible.

5. Consolidate all your bank accounts. Maintain one bank account with online access. You can use that to pay your bills or to file tax returns. Keep your ATM/debit card with you, safely.

6. Close all your credit cards. You can use your debit card for all the expenses during you travel. (Note: Your credit score shouldn't get affected when you close your credit cards in good terms. Talk to your financial advisor for details). I closed all my credit cards during the last week before my return.

7. Lock your SSN/Credit. If you want to prevent the fraudulent usage of your SSN, lock your credit. You need to apply for credit lock/freeze through all the 3 credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian & TransUnion.

8. Close all your utilities accounts (phone, TV, mobile phone, PG&E etc.,) at appropriate times. Have your mobile phone till the last day. You may need it for emergencies. I called & closed my mobile phone account on the last day.

9. Give "Change of Address" to your post office. It is recommended to give the address of a friend who owns a house (A friend who rents a house may move around). Also, the friend has to be very reliable. He/she shouldn't miss important mail communications to you. Give "Change of Address" to people from whom you may receive some correspondences (Banks, Utility providers, USCIS, IRS, DMV, etc.,).   (Also read: R2I Change of Address - Checklist)

10. Decide what you want to do with your 401K account. You don't have to close your 401K when you leave the country. You can maintain the account till your retirement, also. Talk to a financial advisor to decide which option is best for you. I had very little balance in my 401K (I started with 401K very late). So, I sold all my possessions. Yes, there will be a 10% penalty for early withdrawal (paid during the time of filing tax returns) + 20% tax deducted at source. When you file your tax returns, you can calculate/settle the actual tax that you owe to the government. (Note: On the last day of your employment, you'll fill a 'participant distribution' application which instructs what your 401K provider should do with your account. You have an option of selling all the positions & wiring the money to your bank account. Just talk to your 401k provider/HR about the available options well in advance). Read the "R2I - 401(k) closure FAQ" for details.

11. Decide what you want to do with your stocks/bonds. I had very little money in stocks. So, I sold all my stocks. (Read: Stock Trading Lessons)

12. Track the USD -> INR conversion rates. When I returned to India, the conversion rates were at their best levels. So, I moved all my USD to India (INR), right away. I left some minimal balance in the bank to take care of the tax payments, next year. (Note: I had the practice of sending money to India on a monthly basis. So, I normally don't care about the conversion rates. If you are transferring money to India on a regular basis, it would get Dollar Cost Averaged out). Also read: US to India money transfer strategies

13. Decide what are some of the items that you want to take back to India, with you. You may need to arrange for containers to ship your personal belongings. There are several folks who take care of shipping items from US -> India. They'll take care of door-to-door delivery. It takes about 2 - 3 months for you to receive the shipment in India. You can get a price quote online. I didn't send any items through containers. All I sent/brought from US is just 7 suitcases. Rest of the items were either sold or donated to someone.

14. Sell/Donate the items that you don't want to take with you to India. Take pictures of items & put them in Craigslist for sale. Donate items to Goodwill. You'll get a tax credit for the items that you donated, when you file your tax returns. In order to avail the tax credit, get a receipt from Goodwill & keep that safe.

15. Plan well in ahead to sell your big ticket items (like house, car etc.,). My costliest asset was my car. I sold it to a friend of mine. I didn't have the pain of going through multiple prospects or the car dealers. (Note: Some of my friends, bought houses just before the housing market touched bottom in 2008. Their home values lost nearly 10 - 20%. If you are thinking of returning to India, don't make risky bets. Otherwise, you may be stuck in USA for a while).

16. Make proper long-term investments in India well-ahead of (years before) your move. I had made sure that I get continuous income in India. That way, you don't have the pressure to 'work' immediately. You can take a short break. Also, having worked in US for several years under stress, it is time for you to relax a bit. (Read: Power of Attorney for NRIs - FAQ, if you are thinking of buying properties in India)

17. Purchase a VOIP phone (such as Skype, Magic Jack, or Vonage) and take it with you to India. You may need that to stay in touch with your US friends & to communicate with people who maintain your US accounts. Magic Jack seems to be the cheapest at the time of writing this blog (But, your computer has to be kept ALWAYS ON for you to receive calls). I bought a Skype phone with SkypeOut number. The voice quality is good & the calls are very reliable. (Read: IP Phone - Magic Jack vs Vonage vs Skype)

18. If you have school going kids, you may have an additional responsibility of planning the move around the time the academic year starts in India. Some of the schools finish their admissions in Dec/Jan time frame. You should plan your move, accordingly (Read: Getting KG admission for a kid in school - the math behind it &  R2I school admissions - FAQ)

19. Get medical documents for your family from your health care provider. Some of the providers make them available online. You may need to just take printouts. Complete your regular health checkups, dental appointments etc.,

20. If you don't know anyone in the Indian city where you are going to move to, you may have to arrange for a house, basic stuff for your move, well in advance. In the worst case, book a hotel for your stay for the first few weeks or so.

21. Send your family first to India. You can find out if they are getting adapted to India or not. Also, it will be easier for you to clean-up things in US, if you are alone (For ex., you can stay with your friends/some bachelors during the last few days in US)

22. You should have some "significant" money when you are in India. The cost of living in India has gone up, quite a bit. You would need money to settle down, comfortably. The amount of money that you need may vary based on your family size, life style, commitments etc.,

23. Scan all your important documents & convert them to soft copies. It is easier to maintain soft copies of documents (like tax filing documents, bank information, visa related documents etc.,).

24. If you have been in US for 10 years, you would've earned 40 credits for social security. You will be eligible for Social Security benefits after your retirement. From what I read, US government would send you the 'check' wherever you are. You have to just keep IRS updated about your whereabouts. [Also read: How can I get my Social Security benefits?]

25. If you have kids who are US citizens, you may need to get a PIO card for them to visit India. After reaching India & after being in India for 6 months, you need to submit a 'registration' application to extend the stay of US Citizens. Visit your nearest passport office (or) refer to the passport office web site for more details. [Recommended reading: "The OCI Hoopla" "Extending stay of a PIO card holder"]

My planning actually started 6 years back. Yes. I was preparing to go back to India since I landed in US. I was very conservative since day one. I made sure that I buy only the *mandatory* things. Whenever I visit India (or) if someone from India visits me, I send a lot of unused household items through them to India (such as books, mementos, gift articles etc.,). We started visiting important places in US, ~2 years before our move :)

Always, keep your options open. You may decide to return back to US, if you can't get adjusted to things in India. So, keep that in mind when you are planning for your move. I burned all my boats before I left US. That way, the only option for me is to be in India :)

If you think something is missed out, please drop me a note. I'll be happy to include that to the list.

Wishing you all the best for your move. India needs people like you.

Related posts:

Things to do after your R2I
100 reasons to R2I
Green Card vs. US Citizenship

11/45 - The rarest size

What happened to Chennai? What happened to all those tall folks with long feet? I suddenly felt singled out. I couldn't believe that I'm abnormally tall.

(Also read: Shoe Trees - the life extenders for your shoes)

I wanted to buy a pair of 'formal' shoes (My old pair retired after 4 years of service). I used to wear Lee Cooper in the past, when I was in Chennai. So, I decided to buy my favorite Lee Cooper model. I started my search at Khal's foot world in Nelson Manickam road. They told that they don't have size 11/45. They called a few other branches and confirmed that they couldn't find the size + model combo, there as well. They were trying to convince me to buy size 10/44. I told them a big NO.

I then went to Spencers Plaza. I visited a few showrooms there and none of them had size 11 (everyone had size 10 and below). I was disappointed very much. I visited a few shops in T. Nagar, but in vain. I couldn't find my favorite model & size 11/45. I then went to the Bata Showroom in NM road & asked them regarding the availability of formal leather shoes of size 11. They didn't have any. I then went to Anna Nagar Woodlands showroom and bought a pair of shoes (semi-formal) for INR 27xx. This is the costliest of all my shoes. I didn't like the model much - but I don't have much choice.

It took me the whole Saturday evening to find a pair of shoes of size 11/45. I used to buy them when I was in India 6 years back. Something has happened in the last few years and it appears to be strange. Anyways, good luck guys who want to buy shoes of size 11/45.

Also read:  

Shoe Trees - the life extenders for your shoes
Goods in US - lots of options & cheaper price

Why am I a Vegan?

Today we had a Pizza party at work. Everyone seemed to enjoy the hot & delicious Pizza. A colleague asked me "How are Indian Pizzas?". I told him, "They look great. But, I didn't eat them". He asked me "Why?". I told him that I'm adopting a Vegan diet. He then asked me "Why are you a Vegan?". Many folks have asked this question, in the last 3 weeks. Many folks have asked this question, in the last 3 years.

(Also read: A Journey from Non-Vegetarian to Raw-Vegetarian)

Why am I a Vegan? I don't think there is one specific answer to this question.

During my childhood days, I used to visit my grandparents' village. I've seen innocent little creatures dying in front of my eyes. I've seen goats getting 'chopped-off' in the name of 'sacrifice to God'. There were instances where I was asked to hold the legs of the goat tight, when its neck was cut. I've seen blood oozing out of the goat's neck after its head was chopped-off. I've seen the body of the goat shaking for a few seconds before it died. I've seen men killing chicken by twisting their neck. I think these things had some impact on my decision to be a Vegetarian. (Also read: Sunday - a day of mass murders in India)

Wanna see what happens to these poor creatures before they get into your burger or chicken 65?



I was a Vegetarian for most part of my childhood. I used to eat "egg", though. I lost significant weight when I went to college. Some of my friends told that I can regain the lost weight & develop muscles if I become a meat eater. I started eating meat again in 1997.

I was a meat eater till early part of 2000. During that time, I had a chance to read Gandhi's autobiography - "My experiments with truth". I got motivated by Gandhi's determination to be a vegetarian. He got closer to death, because of not eating meat & not drinking milk. He then started consuming goat's milk. Poor guy, he didn't have alternatives to milk-based diet, at that time. I decided to be a vegetarian. This time, I gave up eating egg also. I continued to consume milk-products.

I'm a vegetarian since 2000. I was able to stick to my eating habits. I got married in 2005, and luckily, my wife is also a vegetarian. Having been a vegetarian for quite sometime, I got bored. In mid 2006, I got a desire to 'experiment' a new eating style. I wanted to put my self-control to test. I wanted to go to the next-level of diet. I decided to adopt a Vegan diet. I told myself that I should give up only when I run into health issues because of not consuming milk products. Fortunately, there were milk-substitutes in USA. I started consuming 'fortified' Soy milk. I included spinach & more vegetables/fruits in my everyday diet. I managed to be a vegan for 3 years.

I returned back to India in May, 2009. I was doubtful, if I would be able to continue my Vegan diet in India. I was surprised to see that 'calcium-enriched' Soy milk is available in Chennai. I'm continuing to be a Vegan. I've also substituted my favorite 'Soy Cafe Latte' with 'Lemon/Black Tea'.

My wife takes good care of me, by cooking healthy vegetable food. I'm very thankful to my wife. If not for her, I cannot continue to be a Vegan & at the same time maintain my health. The journey continues ...

Also read:

What can you do to reduce the impact of climate change & global warming?
Subway experience - How much can you change?

I'm Back ...

Hey India... It's me. I'm back again.

I reached Chennai on the 1st of May. The SQ flight landed at 10 pm. It took me just 10 mins to clear the immigration. They've renovated the immigration area. The area was clean & cool. I was quite amazed. But, it took nearly 30 minutes to get the baggage. I took my baggage and cleared the customs. My entire family was eagerly waiting outside the airport, for my arrival. My daughter jumped in joy, on seeing me. I could see nothing but smile on everyone's face. We reached home by 11.30 pm.

The next morning, I took a walk on the streets - just to get a hang of Chennai. India hasn't changed much in the last 6 years. Trash piling up along the sides of the road, groups of people near tea stalls talking politics, folks who 'drink' in the morning, children using the walkways as 'open-air' restrooms. India hasn't changed much. At the same time, I was happy to see the city in 'action' at 6 am. Group of boys sorting the morning newspapers for delivery, folks boarding buses to get to work/school, ladies cleaning their front-yards, people doing exercise at parks. India hasn't changed much. Have you read the story where a princess was cursed by a witch and the princess + the whole kingdom goes into a deep sleep for many many years? Similarly, everything has been preserved 'as-is' in Chennai.

Chennai is so 'lively'. It is good to see people 'everywhere'. I don't have to take a 'Google Map' before leaving home - I can ask the road side shops for directions. There is good 'veggie restaurants' everywhere - I don't have to drive for hours to get to one. I've ditched my favorite 'Soy Cafe Latte' for 'Lemon/Black Tea'. I love the fresh juices that we get along the road side. (Also read: Why am I a Vegan?)

Gone are the days when I drove my Honda Accord to work (with 4 empty seats). I now commute to work in a 'share auto' with 10 other passengers squeezed-in. I don't have to worry about 'credit history' - still able to survive without a credit card. I got a new toy - Nokia E63 for INR 13.5K. Prices have all gone up - but, I now do the math in dollars & it seems very affordable now :)

I'm enjoying the ride so far. Hopefully, it will get more exciting soon.

Also read:

Post R2I life in India