Ghar Waapsi

After working out of India for a over 13 years, it has been a tough & unexpected journey to truly and finally come back to my home town in Pune from far off Shanghai after a brief stint in Mumbai.

I do miss a lot of the globe-trotting, high quality work interactions and the fat pay at the end of the month. It does however feel awesome to slowly but surely integrate into the society and the Indian economy in more ways than one.

Working with so many vendors, consultants and companies & customers, I am reacquainting with the warm and rich culture of my homeland. It feels fantastic to contribute in a small way to the growth of the Indian juggernaut. It seems to happen in various ways like through innovative idea sharing, implementing new processes at clients, through generation of employment in my firm, by paying my share of Income Tax and GST which anyways is a duty of every citizen of the country.

Personally, being physically closer to parents definitely makes one happy. While I do miss the breakneck speed of a global corporation, I do appreciate getting time for reading, reflection, exercise. My own business also empowers me to decide on how much time am I willing to spend on daily travel which leaves out some time to myself.

Below are a few tips for the globe trotters whose urge to come back to our motherland has been increasing over the years. These are things I wish I had done for a smooth ride back home. So let me put down a list which might be useful….

1. Please do not delay / avoid thinking about settling down. Also do not overthink about your kids careers. Giving kids a good education is what you can plan for and beyond that its really upto the kids who figure it out.

2. Plan well on your finances ahead. Being out of India there is a general cost arbitrage which works in your favour.

3. Interestingly there are quite a few global skills in demand in India which people are happy to pay for which you may possess and need to get a handle about. Start researching about it and I am sure you will find the sweet spot!

3. If you want to try out your own thing back home, think of joining an organisation with a customer facing role which can give you some head start into the move back and dealing with Indian business houses. After a few years it is indeed quite tough to settle back into India which is changing at a scorching pace right now. A gradual and planned move back gives you the much needed Indian context before you can take the plunge.

4. Do not join any clubs or pay high membership fees for networking unless you have been associated with it for a long time and are certain of getting the benefit of networking out of it. The reality is that all clubs have developed their own groups in the past several years and making a sudden entry into the social scene is not easy. Take your time to analyse the various networking options before you choose. Further just working in an organisation at a senior level in India will help you network the fastest.

5. Finally be firm about your decision, as the markets go through various cycles which you cannot time, keep patience when the pace is not as fast as what you normally like and take the time out to enjoy sports, social, artistic and spiritual pursuits. The Indian society is RICH in most of these all across the country!