As an NRI I was crazy about India and wished to see it inside out. After moving to India, I enrolled on surveying villages for the Madhya Pradesh elections (with Arthashatra org — credits at end of article). The goal is Jaati-Samikaran — find the caste breakdown of a district…

I was Miss Cry-A-Lot on the flights to India from SFO. From my home door in SOMA SF, I’d start with a heavy doze of airport anxiety. It’s a sick stomach feeling of “What If I miss the flight even though I am reaching 4 hrs earlier?” or “Am I…

How did the transition from engineering to writing make me feel? Pretty DUMB, I must admit. In Pune, you signed up for engineering if you were smart. You signed up for commerce or arts if you were…“Dumb”. It was a deep-rooted bias in our city’s DNA. One afternoon, during an…

You too? Growing up in the 80’s/90’s, middle-class Indian families could afford to eat out only on a few Sundays. They would treat themselves usually at a ‘Shiv Sagar Pure Veg’ kind of restaurant. …

Being in the NRI business, Indians often ask me, “Why would ANYone want to leave the luxury of America and move back to India?”. Moving abroad is a pounce-on-it choice. Poll any MNC office going Indian and they’ll tell you, “Heh, EVERYONE in my office is in line to move…

Big life changes like leaving a job, or a country, can be scary. This is at a different level especially for NRIs. Imagine them hanging on the edge of a visa ledge, to topple anytime into deportation. That is not fun. Whether it’s moving across the country or starting your…

I was crying uncontrollable tears during my first week as an MS student in the US. I had a cardboard box as a table because my flatmate tricked me into using my free furniture ticket to get a sofa for the living room. I was too young — unprepared to…

Here’s a question for NRIs: Where would you walk abroad? Sidewalk Road It’s a no-brainer right. “Obviously Sidewalk. Like, DUHh”. It’s also the right thing to do. It’s also the rule of law “no jay-walking!”. It’s civic sense. It’s not even a question that would come to your mind. As…

Google had the custom of an annual, company-wide ski trip during spring. My first ski trip was to Vermont in 2008 — a combined offsite with the Atlanta and NYC office. But that’s not why I remember it. I remember it because my mouth froze in the frigid snowboarding air…