Back Home!

We have moved back to India for good, finally! The move has been smooth so far and we are slowly settling in. After ten years of living in the US this move was something we really wanted, for our kids, for ourselves. A lot of people whom we told about our decision of leaving the US expressed surprise and some even disapproval .  A few of them simply couldn't fathom the idea of us leaving behind the US and going back to India. My question to them was " having born in India, being raised up in India, how difficult is it really going to be to get back to my roots?" Everybody's priorities in life are different and depending on what they are and how you percieve them you make the necessary decisions. Another thing that can make you feel your decision is right or wrong is "expectation". I would be lying if I said that I had no expectation from India or what my life in India is going to be like. But, I did not allow my mind to soar on irrational flights of fancy or expectation in this case. However developed India is, there are certain things that have remain unchanged and it will always be the case.

We are in Hyderabad, the so called Cyberabad where some of the best IT companies are rubbing shoulder to shoulder with each other. This part of the city , the high tech city, is really developed and is still developing, with mammoth shopping malls, mulitplexes, gaming arcades, restuarants and etc- a little for everyone. Even the real estate has been doing good, with new age apartment/ condo complexes, some obnoxiously large villas, and what not. Inspite of this all, you see shoddy roads and some of them so narrow that they can barely have 2 cars plying next to each other, you can even give a hi -five to someone from your car to a guy in the other if you wish to. One sees beautiful villa communities only to be ticked off by a horrid road approach. Yes they say the road has been sanctioned and the muncipal authorities are working to remove the gargantuan heap of garbage which lies right there just a meters away from the homes, but when will the work be completed? Immediately comparisons start. " Gosh the US was much better". Yes, I sit and compare too, but my expectations jump in to tell me " anj, this is India, look at the bright side of things here instead of the negatives" or better still " leave it na, you are still better off than a lot of people out here".

On the whole it has not been bad at all so far, why should it be? I am a whole lot closer to my parents, my sibling, my relatives and thats all that matters, to me atleast. The rest can be handled when the time comes.

Oh yes, I have my driving lessons starting tomorrow, that will give me the ticket to the hell called " driving in India". Oh, driving in the US was.........................................stop comparing!!!!