It’s been 2 months since we repatriated back to Colorado. It’s been quite the whirlwind – more than I expected. I mean, it’s coming back home – how hard could it be? Let me count the ways:
- Buying cars (walking was not an option)
- Enrolling kids in school – more like shopping for all of the school supplies
- Refurbishing our place to make it “ours” again
- Figuring out how to watch sports after “cutting the cord”
- Oh, and finding a job once everybody was settled
But, the hardest part of settling back in Colorado was also the most unlikely reason: the peaceful serenity of suburban life. After living in Mumbai with a population of 20 million where people lived on top of each other, it took a bit of an adjustment to live in a Denver suburb city of 65,000 where at night, you can hear the silence. More than anything else, you realize there are very few people that you can relate and share your experience. You miss, more than anything else, the people.
As if India followed me to Colorado, an opportunity presented itself where I was invited to attend the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay’s annual reunion in New York City. Though I am well-travelled, I’ve never been to the Big Apple. The IITians (especially Vinay Karle) welcomed me with open arms, and I felt like part of the family I left behind. I may be the only non-Indian alumni, but I was treated as family – just like I would be in India.
Things are different, not perfect, but different. I do not take for granted blue skies, clean air, or even red lights. As anyone who has lived or visited India, you will appreciate American traffic congestion… Our Mumbai adventures have officially ended but a new one begins which now includes a much larger extended family. You don’t have to move to India to change. Rather, you just have to change to open your world to new possibilities.
IIT Bombay Director Khakhar and myself