The trip that changed everything

Blogging after a long time...Figured I'd try this again. :-)

Around the same time last year I had the job of my dreams where I was having breakfast in Vegas, lunch in NYC and dinner in San Francisco. I was working for a hi-tech firm with tremendous potential which gave me an opportunity to collaborate with some of the sharpest brains in the field of digital kiosks and out-of-home entertainment. Having spent an entire decade in the US, I had considered myself as an Indian on the outside and an American on the inside. I had little visibility in to India besides my immediate family since I barely spent a few weeks in India in the last 10 years of my life. I was whatchamacallit an "Indian Born Confused Desi". By the end of 2009 I had just finished my MBA from Cal-State and have been wanting to take a long vacation and spend some time with my family in Chennai. To my delight my Manager approved my request for a month off and there I was, packing our bags to enjoy India for the first time in a long time!

After a first few chaotic days, I settled down to a nice routine, enjoying mother's cooking and the warmth of friends and relatives. I and my brother packed our bags to go on a spiritual retreat and my life as I knew it took a swift turn (need to find out if it is for the best or worst). Ironically my brother had warned me prior to the trip that things will not be the same, which, I casually brushed off! It was indeed true! Things were never the same after that trip. I was out on the streets witnessing India for what it is. The fog of materialism had lifted, albeit temporarily, and I came face-to-face with the life of a common man in India. The chaos, the struggle, the warmth of people, the concept of "simple-living-high-thinking" made me do some soul-searching. Quoting Cobb from Inception: "What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient... highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it's almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed - fully understood - that sticks; right in there somewhere.” - an idea had been planted in my head - the idea to return to India - the idea that never once left my mind since my return from the trip.

So, here I am - with Green Card on hand - the holy-grail for every immigrant seeking the American dream - and about to let it go down the drain. I am returning to India with my family in a few weeks. I have come to realize that there are others on the same boat and as an aspiring returnee I have found some of the blogs extremely helpful in overcoming the dilemma, the n+1 syndrome, the paranoia and other usual deterrents of R2I (return2India) process. I have planned to blog our preparation/settling down process of returning to India including the challenges, concerns, solutions and impediments with the hope that other aspiring R2I'ers find it useful to take that one extra step required to come back to their motherland.

If you find this interesting, please visit my blog often to read more about our relocation process. You are welcome to leave your comments/bouquets/brickbats in the comment section underneath.