Watch: Why He Left a SUCCESSFUL Career Abroad (20 Years) To Be in India?

4:13 I'll be able to provide some tidbits as you suggested to the our listeners and probably those tidbits would be useful in their return to India or return back to India definitely definitely so let's start a bit about

4:31 Your background about your education and what made you to move to UK at the first place yeah aash I I left UK for the UK around 2001 Jan in fact 26 Jan 2001 before that I did my bachelor's degree and MBA in India and worked for a couple of years for Tat mcroyal in India and then you know early 2000s as you know there's the wave of people who went to UK US so I could say I was one of them wanted to study master's degree at University of Manchester so I did my Masters in Business Information Technology after my masters in the UK September 11 happened during my masters and that changed the job market there and while I had opportunities after my Masters I didn't get the opportunity that I really

5:32 Liked I wanted to be a business analyst and at the same time I was exploring to do some research and fortunately I was offered a scholarship to do a PhD in Knowledge Management at the time and yes I've taken that opportunity and after my Master's four years of PhD degree and after that a very long career I started my research career as a research fellow in my final year of my PhD and then after that I worked as a dean and then Pro Vice Chancellor and then Deputy Vice Chancellor so before I moved to UK I worked my last role was as Deputy Vice Chancellor leading the whole academic function of the university the University of Greater Manchester called now and and yeah so that was my kind of work education work background in the in the UK just snapshot so how was the life in UK

6:33 You know for the 20 years is a long time and yeah yeah I think like all all of us who went to us UK Australia the first couple of years are quite tough you know and I I probably can say this so you know when we go to study especially not H1 Visa but or work visa when you go to study we probably take you know half of the money required for the fees yeah generally you know most of the families and I know I was one of them and so you need to work hard do part-time jobs in order to pay the full fees and also your living expenses and you know it's nothing special everybody does that all of us you know the previous generation at least we did that so completed my PhD and just before I completed I my University university of Greater mancher they processed my work permit themselves and gave me a research fellow job so until that point point it I would say it was quite quite tough Student Life

7:34 Especially enjoyable but at the same time tough yeah and as as most of us struggle with visas work permits in in the UK it's much tougher because at that time there was no posty work visa you know a lot of people who are settled now they don't probably remember those days so it was tough to get a work permit so but you know somehow my University processed the work permit I got it and got married in 2004 while I was PhD student in my final year good decision otherwise doing PhD you you go mad sometimes but it was good decision to get married in in my final year so yeah so then life probably you know once you get into full-time work paid full-time work paid job it becomes that little bit easier so in my first year after our marriage

8:36 My wife went to University while while while I was doing my work she went to University for a year and then she became a full pharmacist in the UK so one thing I would say is people who are just going or just settling work both parents developing career is a is a an important thing if at all possible always always having both parents working gives a lot of lot of confidence and also lot of base you know both for as a couple but also for children you can do so much more if both are working yeah so so my wife was a qualified pharmacist in India but when I when when she came to UK she needed to do that program one year full-time program not a part time to to become a UK pharmacist so it was quite hard but that was one of the best things we did so she went to University got it done and she became a full-time

9:39 Pharmacist so we both worked and had two children there my son Arian daughter Moka Aran is Elder Moka is younger and after that my career slowly progressed from research fellow to senior research fellow and then I became a reader and I was dragged into leadership role and my University made a Dean that was unplanned yeah here also I would say to people who are growing in their career life throws a lot of opportunities at you sometimes unwanted opportunities and this this role I had with Dean of strategy was to actually restructure the whole university and cut 15% of the jobs so my research was in business process re engineering so therefore my University thought that I was best placed in terms of the skills to do this restructuring which I did and then I

10:40 Wanted to go back to my research career but that never they never let me so they said now you sought out the academic part so then I became assant vice Chancellor academic and I never I couldn't go back to my research career so leadership career grown from assistant Vice Chancellor then Pro Vice Chancellor which is looking after the whole academic function of the University so I would say career has been phenomenal in fact it's probably a lot of hard work but definitely some luck as well I would say but I grabbed any opportunity that was related to my skill and even though it's tough and not many people want to do things like restructurings and all of that I grabed those and that paved me way into a leadership position which is we get lot of nris Indian origin academics into professorial roles and all of that but very few people actually go into leadership roles or or you know gain leadership roles so that

11:42 That that was the journey in the UK and my wife also grown in her career yeah and fortunately this is probably a bit debatable but I would say probably I would say it we we debated a lot about sending our kids to to either private school or a public school yeah and after a lot of thought U know when I went back to my own life my parents worked very hard to send good school in India yeah now we are making enough money to actually to send to a private school both children very expensive yeah very very expensive but we thought our parents gave the best for us in terms of education and that's what got us this far in the UK talking about yes so why can't we give the best you know so we we sent our children to private schools which again I never regreted we could have purchased so many properties back home with that money it's personal but I think

12:43 People people want to know so I we sent to private schools and it was very very good decision despite of warnings from other friends we we did that and I never regret it that's one of the best decisions we made to send to our children the best possible schools in the UK so yeah yeah that was difficult decision but I think we made it and and children have grown so by the time we reached 2020 around that time my son was 13 and my daughter was just in third grade my son was in ninth grade and my son say and then something happened we needed to make a decision but yeah that was the the journey no first of all congratulations on your your successful career I mean it's very rare to have people on the leadership side especially on the academic side right I think the progress that you had the impact that you had in the University I think which kind of paved the path for you to make that contributions and make that

13:44 Impact in the University so congratulations on that and also sounds like I think your wife is also very successful in her own career and kids are enjoying their time so sounds like

13:55 Everything is going fine so why the thought of moving to India is that something that has always been there or when did this thought occurred was there some timing you know maybe talk a little bit about the reasons behind it and how did you approach it if you're relocating to India after as abroad listen up I have created something that will absolutely save you precious time that most NIS waste while Googling this is based on my interaction with hundreds of people about their move back Journeys and uncover the biggest frustrations NIS face when planning their return so I came up with something that can help a 15 we email series a free step-by-step road map to address these challenges and make your move back smoother and stress-free whether you're moving back for family retirement or VISA related reasons we got you covered here is what you will get each week actionable tips to decide if moving back is the right choice strategies to plan your move back

14:56 Whether it's from Logistics career Financial tax planning how to choose the best school for your kids and we also have several checklist that help you with the move from a financial Logistics and much more this isn't just an advice it's carefully crafted road map to save you time reduce stress and help you make better decisions ready to plan your move with the confidence click the link below in the description to join for free and start receiving actionable strategies right in your inbox yeah I think it's probably probably the question that that's there in every Indian going abroad U every I think majority of us want to come back you know it's not just me majority I I would say 70% would when I speak to people my friends throughout those 20 years and people who retired as doctors you know who went in the previous generation everybody you know wanted to come back at least 70% but

15:56 There are number of reasons why they couldn't so in in my case I always wanted to come back at some point I wanted to come back and come back to my my hometown Hyderabad and that's the reason why even though in 2012 when we came in 2021 in 2012 we became eligible for British citizenship I had what they called permanent residency in the UK for for a couple of years and I became fully eligible to to take citizenship for all the family but we never did because not only we wanted to come back to India but we want to do something in education and if you have to establish an educational institution in India you have to be an Indian citizen okay that's an important part some some people don't know that yeah U so not only that but I always wanted to remain as Indian citizen and a lot of my

16:56 Friends you know British citizenship who came during my time and it was a good decision for them you know because it gives a lot of lot of flexibility and safety and also travel wise you know a lot of lot of benefits as well but because I always wanted to move back to India especially in the education field I I kept my Indian citizenship my wife did as well my son did as well my daughter we were forced to take British citizenship because we had a wedding to attend and she was very young and and Indian passport was taking 40 days or something and British passport was taking about one week or something so that's the only reason why we take we took British for my daughter but apart from that all the family kept Indian citizenship anyway yeah so that's that's that so we always wanted to come back and so just before covid so we were planning to come around

17:57 2025 okay okay just around 2019 end of 2019 just before covid hit us I was Deputy Vice Chancellor for five years at the University of Greater Manchester and my University offered me to become Vice Chancellor yeah you know in a year time but they more or less wanted another 10 15 years commitment which is you know natural you know they want me to see at least three strategic plans to be implemented and and so on so forth and it was fantastic opportunity it was obvious opportunity and so but I had to make a decision you know because spending another 15 years in Britain means we can never come back it's not that easy to come back I was 44 at that time and I would have been 16 spending another 50 60 years if I spent another 50 years 15 years so my children would have

18:58 Grown up and to come back late 50s and 60 is is difficult I wouldn't say impossible children won't children won't move and so on so here we have a great opportunity of becoming first Indian for a British universities wise Chancellor probably one of the youngest at 45 that's a fantastic opportunity to die for and in a university I loved and I grown with it and then here is a pull to come back to India with in five years time yeah so but I didn't have the five years to make the decision because once you were offered that kind of position the leadership position you can't stay there by declining that position you know you have to either take it or leave it because because it's it's a leadership position so we we we you know thought it for about a couple of months and

19:59 Said okay let's make a decision now and we made a decision to come back to India I said sorry that you know my my dream to do something in India was much stronger than becoming a British University Vice Chancellor so a lot of people criticized that actually you know for good reasons you know I don't blame because you know worked so hard and it's on a gold platter why why don't you take it and you know going to India establish a school or whatever it's so we made a decision to come back we brought forward from 2025 the plan to 2021 I discussed with like-minded people some of my friends very close Associates and you know some people understood some people did not but my wife was a great support and parents had a dual views but but you know the pull was so strong song so we made a decision to

20:59 Come back I told my University that I'm leaving so because I was Deputy Vice Chancellor at least one year six months to one year notice is essential so 21 2021 April we came back India so it's that so yeah it happened five years early and I would say probably that's a God's blessing I would say because if I didn't come in 2021 some of the things we did I don't think would have otherwise happen got it so yeah thanks a lot for sharing that first of all again you know congratulations for having an opportunity to become a vice Chancellor at such an young age you know Indian despa to be able to be a vice Chancellor for a British University right so you know that's a golden opportunity but again you have that strong pull to be back in and you have to make a decision I'm definitely very curious I know even though you have the opportunity to take the citizenship it's just the strong pull to do something in

22:01 India do something in education field is so clear in your mind that made it very clear that what you want to do right I think you know no need for this and all that stuff that's Kudos I mean having such a Clarity and thought process and you know helping in your decision process what I'm curious about is 2025 where this this is an year come from I mean just curious you know even though you went in 2001 so is there like a 25 year you have like certain Milestones that you think that you're going to hit and then I understand about the reasons to pull back earlier but I'm just curious about this long-term vision of the plan of 2025 yeah so couple of things one is I wanted my son to go to a university by the time okay okay and and younger child and as we we come to India so that's one aspect but more important than that some of the plans we were doing to establish education

23:02 Institution in India it required a lot more funding yeah so I thought I will require not only me making more money but also pulling that funding making the solid plan acquiring land and other things to establish this education institution I thought it will take a in that time that four or five years and I might be traveling quite a bit between India and UK while I was doing that so so the the the five years additional four probably yeah additional four or five years four years was for that to pull up more fund funding to have a a clear route for my son to go to a university and and establish the base for me to come back now I'm glad that you asked this question because what I realized is this word you know in India said please do settle in your life kind of word the settle the settle is a big word there is no definition it always you you you you

24:05 You you you Flex it in the way you want and I don't think there's a there's a definition so I realized after I came back to India that there's nothing called settled you see you you are never settled you know so you need to take that shot at some point you of course not blindly you need to have Bas and all of that but you will not have the compl base where you can say now I'm absolutely safe and now I can go to India that situation is never going to happen so that's why I I feel that I it was lucky that I came back early because what I realized is even if I came in 2025 I would have gone through the same problems same process yeah but you may ask if I came in 2014 or 15 would it have been the same I would say no yeah the reason I would say no is the fact that I was have grown immensely in my career yeah and also I was mature enough

25:07 To make certain big decisions so I I really believe if I came five years earlier I don't think I would have achieved certain things yeah but if I came five years later in 2025 it would have been the same yes probably worse in some some cases yeah so I hope I really do think I came out at the right time so 202 is about that okay but I would say if I came in 5 years earlier I would have struggled because because of the position and the kind of things I delivered the kind of experience I gained in that five years between 2015 and 2020 was completely different actually the risk-taking the Strategic Management the networking and also when you came to India people know you know who you were you know the people the relevant people know who you were and it was much easier to convince people to invest and lot of other things got it definitely I

26:07 Mean again I think it's the experience that you gain you know is so much invaluable right I think in terms of what you can get one thing I would one thing I would highlight ainash is those who are planning to return definitely I would never suggest people to come back blindly you must have a base you must have a plan but it the same time 100% base 100% safety 100% Security even 90% that's not going to be possible unless you want a lottery or you sold an IT company for billions or multi-millions that's not going to happen but that's 0.1% but majority of the people who wants to come yes you need to have a plan you need to have a base Financial family other things but I would suggest to expect complete solid plan solid base it will be flexible it will be you know here and there but you know things things will work out but you need to have a a good a good plan and good base completely agree I think you should take a rational decision not an

27:08 Emotional decision that's well thought through but it doesn't have to be like a perfect plan where you have everything sorted out from A to Z right I think as long as you have a solid plan which you feel comfortable to make a rational decision I think it's worth going I think there is no limit to what you want right like you know the Corpus fund yes this is good but it's never enough like you know you think it might be I mean it's an evolving door but you know what is a good for your solid plan I think is the key point that you're trying to make and I completely ago with that yeah so yeah let's I think switch a little bit I know in your situation it's

27:44 A little bit of unexpected move in in a to some extent right I think you know you kind of preponed your plans anything that you can talk about on a planning side maybe you know someone who has lived for 20 years from a Logistics from a financial from any of those aspects you know that you can shed some insights yeah so planning firstly everybody I'm sure everybody will have something they want to do something in India you see so first thing is I think Financial Security I would always say that you know first thing is Financial Security and as I said couple of things you know you need to sort out one is hopefully hopefully a debt-free house yeah you know and enough savings to cover children's education up to University level you know whether it's in India or somewhere you know that those are Basics because

28:45 That you can't compromise if you have those two then you have done half of your job I think I'm talking about people you know generally I'm not talking about somebody who sold a software company for 50 million doar or something you know that's you know they don't need to think you know they can do whatever they like that's a different situation but a vast majority of people I'm talking so a debt free houses enough savings to cover children's education and also at least three three to five years of their own sustenance yeah you know even if they don't have any job when they come back if they have sustenance to have five years of the you know without getting a job or even if they have a job if they lose it still they should be able to sustain about 5 years that they must they must have the reason for that is as you know as non-resident Indians spending so much of time I'm talking about people 10 15 20 years we got used

29:48 To certain lifestyle certain quality of Lifestyle our children got to use got used to certain certain lifestyle now when you come to India you can't go below below that that that you must ensure right just because you are returning to India suddenly you can't change your lifestyle and expect on a lower side and expect your children to adjust they won't they will be upset they'll be so that's the reason you know you cannot degrade your lifestyle or the quality of life that you lived when you were in the US Canada Australia doesn't matter that's why you need this this sustenance for five years for the whole family you know debt-free housing and and and children's education financing that and and so on without working or even if you lose a job so that's the basic part yeah that planning you must and I strongly recommend unless you know their family is super wealthy already in India then you know that's a different ball game but if you are one of those you know ordinary Indians like

30:49 Like me like anybody then then you need to sort Basics out after that then a plan a plan for what you are going to do as a as a wife and husband you know is it is it that you're going to find a job in India or your company's transferring or you have a business plan that you you know a lifetime dream that you have to to implement it could be anything it could be Social Service it could be a job it could be starting a company or doesn't matter whatever it is then you need to have a plan on the paper yeah and you know preparing children emotionally all of those also but but planning for these now even if you are coming on job you know I'm talking not talking technical things there are a lot of technical things like you know packages movers that is a little problems anybody can resolve but these big things you need to sort out before you put that paper whether it's a resignation or you know taking that flight those decisions you have to you

31:50 Have to have a solid plan because those are big decisions and you need to have a solid at least return return thought process on how you are going to execute so yeah let's switch a gears a

32:01 Little bit I am really curious about the kids situation you know you have a strong pull to be in India how are how have been with kids I mean what's their mindset especially for someone you know to move at age 13 it would have been a big task so I'm just curious like how open were they for the idea of moving back to India and how did you navigated it along the way yeah so I think again I thought and my wife and I we thought through what will be the impact on them so you can't just a decision make a decision selfish decision that you're going to come and children are just going to you know come with they will but you know you need to make sure that you talk to them so my my son was 13 my daughter was 7 years younger so she was seven at the time okay so my daughter I was confident she was

33:01 Quite young so she was very flexible you know mom takes care of you know the da she's very very close to both of us so it we thought it will be quite easy for my daughter because that the age they don't have close friendships and all of that so coming back to our son who was 13 so we thought first about his education yeah so he was grade nine in the UK system and if we move now the first impact it's going to have is in the UK system to qualify for University local fees you need to be in the UK for three years before you go to university so he's first thing he's not going to be eligible for the local fees if we move at grade nine yes okay so first thing we said yeah that's okay we'll bear that we'll bear that pain okay so that's that's out of the window that's a factor that that we we were okay with next comes quality of

34:01 Education his education when we moved to to India because in India the qualities in so many tiers unlike us so if you sent to a government School in the UK they'll be absolutely fine most of the government school they are at very good quality and he went to a private school so he was you know really getting the best possible education so how do I match that you know you know he his school was in 50 acres campus 300 year old school you know goth all of that you know playgrounds rugby and all of that now how do I do that in India you know Hyderabad so we explored various schools and all of that and shortlisted only three out of visiting 20 schools I shortlisted three three schools at the time now then I thought yes there are re reasonably good quality schools in Abad may not be able to match UK quality but he will not be

35:03 Seriously upset with it yeah so that we determine that you know so there the opportunity is there on the education then discussing with them right preparing them so we sat on a we were preparing that you know we are thinking of going to India it's not like a sudden shock oh tomorrow we're going to or next month we're going to catch a flight or something so for six months we're preparing them and during this time we sat for a decision making kind of so for my son we given an opportunity to study in the UK in a boarding school yeah okay okay so if you want to study he's old enough to go to a boarding school n9th grade and so on so they're very fantastic boarding schools in in the UK so financially a little bit more painful but we were able to afford that so we gave the option to remain and study in the UK in a boarding school and

36:04 Then University time it's up to him we can make the decision later on us UK India and so on or come with us and this is the school we shortlisted have a look at it so he was okay with it he looked online and you know but we were traveling in in between so so there was a choice as well on table for him there was also couple of good school options in Hyderabad that we have chosen and he said there's no way he's going to go to boarding school in in the UK he wants to be with family so but we we genuinely offered him that choice yes yeah so so that you know he was reasonably matured you know in that at ninth grade people remember for life that you know so yeah so we all that part we did so similar my daughter did not give her choice she was quite young and boarding schools for that for that age anyway and it's not right to do that

37:04 So she she came and straight away it was not an option so yeah we had we had a we've gone through the process of preparing them Choice what kind of choices and so on now here I strongly recommend School choices are very very important where you're going to live was also important that's a part coming to India but you asked for children education so I I hope I probably covered key points I don't know whether I miss on that definitely I think sounds like I think they have always been prepared about the move to India and this is very fantastic that you have genuinely given a choice where they chose right I think especially for your son who is in a Grade Nine you know chose where he wants to be I think so that's that's very appreciate I mean you know fantastic on that so let's talk about

37:55 The life in India so after the move how was the life in India for someone who has spent 20 years and moving to India how is it so I I'll talk about children first because we're on the topic so so we we came back in 2021 and we were aware that we're going to come back almost 9 months to one year prior to that so we had that whatever honeymoon period yeah so we knew we're coming so we we planned Packers move and all of that you know that's that's all and so we moved to a a community Villa Community so we rented a place we had our own house but that's far away from the project I was planning the school project so the two things really helped the children is the school and the community where we lived so it's a it's a gated community which meant that there is a

38:56 Safety aspect now this is critical very very critical because the way people roam around your girl your boy in the US UK Australia they'll move freely because there's a sense of safety inbuilt with them okay in India that is not there okay so the the safety you need to you need to look at very I'm not saying you know always go for Villa Community or apart whichever an apartment community Villa Community make sure that you're not taking away the sense of Freedom that they had to roam around you know freely whether it's within the you know club houses and all of that that is important yeah because you know the health and safety things in India are very very basic so a few months or at least a couple of years you need to protect you know especially if they are young so make sure that the house you move to or the community you move to the basics are taken care of

39:57 Health and safety otherwise they think that see in India sorry in the US US Australia UK there are safety nets everywhere the swimming pool they have a barricades the the road they have this and all of that people you know when they freely roam around accidents won't happen there because it's all thought through in India it's not so please do remember because I don't want to give examples here even though I know some tragic things but please please always make sure that the housing part doesn't matter whether it's apartment or whatever the safety things are because their mindset is different and the infrastructure they came from into India is different so please make sure that you get it right so coming back to the the fundamentals so U the community where we came immediately after we returned is pretty safe and they cycled freely in the community and all of that so that I would say solved 60% of the issue for children to cing the other is a school yeah okay now my

41:00 Son being in grade nine he had friends in the UK all of that he used to play and do all of those aspects so when he came back he knew he was going to miss all the friends now the school you select as I said first is quality yeah the second is the school's infrastructure most of the wherever whichever country you are coming from Western World they have you know things like grounds are basic right when they come back in the if you put them in a poultry form like a school they're really really going to struggle they really feel depressed because you know the I had some examples of that where just because of the children not happy with the whole life they had to go back to to after returning to India they have to go back to whether you know us UK whatever I've seen so many so Cho choice of the school is quite important and the infrastructure the quality of Education the playgrounds is very important because that helps

42:02 Children to settle quickly and make friends quickly right so because making friends in a classroom is one thing making friends while playing while swimming while cycling is a different thing you see so that housing and school if you could get these Basics right yeah almost you know from children's perspective you know you're you're good you're good and they will set my children settled almost within 5 to six months both both in terms of the house and in the in the in the school you know they had sleepovers and things like that and somehow it worked quite well and yes there were problems it's not that it's perfect U but these two the housing the community where you lived and the school solved most of the most of the things and made them to settle settle quite quickly so that's about the children yeah I don't know whether I covered enough on the children's oh yeah yeah I think

43:03 That that is good so I think maybe

43:05 There might be one quick question on the children like while we on the topic in terms of the education I know the school selection was important I know you said I know the quality is there might not be the equivalent so especially for your son who is in the ninth grade right how did he adapt to maybe you know the education system itself like in terms of the languages in terms of the subjects just maybe you know high level I think that would sure so my son was in ninth grade he was pretty good with math science and apart from English obviously in the UK he he had French in in his school as another language so when we came back we had an exemption here so in India he we came to IB International borate so in the UK system for those nris to were coming back the UK system is

44:08 Nothing but Cambridge system so the Cambridge University took the UK education system and made it a product called igcs or Cambridge so UK system is nothing but Cambridge igcs system okay so what they do in the igcc CD system is in the UK they study the 10th grade or our SSC or that two years yeah so and then they go to intermediate 11 and 12 so my son was in grade n so he was supposed to come back and repeat if he the the ninth grade again to become equivalent to his age but for number of reasons he went into grade 10 so he was one year ahead but that's a small technical thing now the curriculum choices in India are now majorly is your cbsc there's no way most of the children won't go into the state Telangana AP curriculum very rare yeah but generally the choices are cbsc which

45:09 Is Indian curriculum yeah and then you have Cambridge which is UK curriculum also called igcs and then IB International borate which is well established in the in the Switzerland us and across the world so we chose IB curriculum here in and he came after passing nine we came into grade 10 now this is going to happen for a lot of the audience who are listening now you can't perfectly finish an academic year come and join because us system Australian system they're all different sometimes or many times you may need to come halfway through and join in India right exact match doesn't work or a few months late so so we came in April which is two months before they were supposed to finish in the UK system yeah but that was okay and then joined in nagak Khan in July

46:11 Okay okay so he had another one and a half month more holidays schols gave permission and all of that so he came and joined IB because we thought that gave the broad flexibility now lot of parents asked this question already you came from the UK system why didn't you join the UK system in India yeah right now this is where the school selection comes into picture it would have been better in the UK system but when I analyzed the lot of curricula and the schools in Hyderabad I could not find a good Cambridge UK school there are good but I wanted really the best the combination of quality of Education Plus infrastructure plus overall development all of these so my criteria was quite hard so I couldn't find so I compromised on the curriculum but not the quality of the overall quality of the school so

47:13 So we he he he joined IB School my daughter also joined IB School so they both went to the same school yeah cool

47:21 So yeah now let's talk about maybe your life in India you and your wife at high level like you know anything that you have struggled or you know was everything okay yeah yeah I I wouldn't say everything is smooth because I think probably you know your audience is doing a lot more better because I did not join da for three four years ago I I don't think I did too much of research on the family settlement on that kind of side I was so much focused on the on the in establishment lot of things took a backseat so anyway so couple of things what you realize is the India that you lived before you went 20 years ago 15 years ago and the India you are coming back to is completely different yes right and there's this classic error that we do all when you go to UK US

48:22 Whatever by subconscious you will convert the dollars to rupees right you know so in the first year in the US or UK you say oh how many Rupees this is costing you know your mind goes into it for some reason you know I've seen many including myself when you come back you do the reverse yeah because that's where you spend most of the time like you know like 20 years and then you got used system yeah so you try to adjust to the now then you realize the people in India I mean across the Spectrum I'm not talking Rich poor middle class whatever people spend like here I mean unbelievable and I I I I live 20 years even if you convert a dollar to rupe and whatever after the conversion the people spend mad so majority I'm not talking about so that's the first shock you'll see I'm not talking about returning we are very conservative you know generally if you take a a survey the people who are returning are reasonably

49:22 Conservative the people who are here and who worked and wealth or not and what they're used to a different kind of spending so that's the first shock we we have seen yeah nothing to do with weth the generally the India has changed you know culture yeah the culture has changed whether it's function celebrations whatever it is so that's the first kind of not a challenge but it's a it's a shock because everybody has their own lifestyle that's it's nothing wrong right or wrong so that's a something we needed to digest very quickly in terms of people's Lifestyles has changed the conservative nature the 20 years that we adopted where you know you calculate you you do that you know you don't spell just like that you save all of that now that that that in general has changed in India the second is the housing the real estate the the whole thing everybody knows the prices go up but again doesn't matter how much you prepare you still

50:23 Get shocked yes for sure yeah so that's that's a that's other aspect and then and then relationships generally 15 20 years especially you see that you know you you're not up to the speed in terms of the the cultural transformation that has happened in the last 20 years and so what I would suggest here is you know take a little bit time to observe you know we tried our best you know sometimes it was difficult not to judge you know let them you know you you actually go with the flow rather than being a rebel oh my God you know why are why is he jumping the speed lights you know why is this you you honk you know on the road in same thing with in relationships also happens I'm not you know you honk in a different way when when somebody says right you know don't say please lot of the lot of the things so I would strongly recommend go with the flow and start OBS because you are an alien they are not yeah right

51:23 Returning wise we are aliens yes in yes you miss the 20 years yeah no it's your problem not their problem they're not going to change forget it you know the road traffic is not going to change the jumping the lights is not going to change the them honking is not going to change you you know hopefully it will take another two three decades for them to change but don't write because you know you only get frustrated you only I'm giving physical examples but in relationships also similar things will happen so try to go with the flow and you will adjust you know they will not yeah and it will take probably 6 months 9 months one year and you understand and then your genetic memory of growing up India kicks in yeah and and we will adjust and and and that's quite important I'm not saying yeah you should lose what you have gained in terms of Civic culture and all of that you keep it in the home and all of that wherever possible but don't try to lecture people and even if we try we fail because you know India is a huge thing and they have their own

52:24 Way of growing up and all of that so in terms of children what you gained as culture and the financial discipline keep it don't don't lose it but what I would suggest is go with the flow as much as possible observe and slowly adopt you know your children as well so that that will the reason it is important is you're coming back to India right to have that relationship and that connection if we behave like you know we came from somewhere and you know that alien concept yeah people people don't like it I'm not saying I have done that but I observed yes yes so so make sure that you adopt because you need to enjoy that you know that connection that family that's the reason you came back yes otherwise you are well off there so so make sure that you you protect that you protect that family family connections relatives and all of that that's what you came back for so yeah adapt and

53:25 All of that so that's on the cultural side and all of that and and and slowly you know dollars pounds conversion all of that will disappear you you you learn to spend in rupees in reality all of that will happen now so that's on the on the other side on the business side it was tough I think children your business plan your relationships setting settling back into Indian culture all of that probably at a bird side view level

54:00 And if you have the Deep conviction that you got to come back work on it you know because and at some point you need to take that very very harsh decision you know it's not easy it's not easy and so many people struggle with it but and as somebody who wrote a lot you know whether it's p the or whatever you you know if you have an ambition to come back and put it on paper I know I I always put on the left hand side advantages of coming to India right hand side disadvantages whatever you do so everybody has it even if it's on a rough sheet or R paper put it on paper even Family Matters Financial things relationships children put it on that would they be better off there would they be better off here what could what should I do to get them better off in India if I if I'm going to go there so then you're you know and the sleep on the paper and things will come to your mind and then you make a lot of

55:00 PR progress you know in the meantime so that formal planning and you you nicely put the emotional don't be you know don't take it emotional make a rational decision and one thing I would say is your family and friends you know it's obvious but I I always say that now the the school we establish now Manchester Global School in Hyderabad there are six other friends and all of them I knew for 20 years right so you know that friend and friends and family that you have you know close friends you know the not the guy you go pub with and tomorrow morning you all for the close friends they they you know they're absolutely you know that's what you're coming for as well so make sure that that connections that connections you you base that's very very important and because when you come here it's like a shock as you

56:00 Said lot of things you know shocks you but Al also this part I will tell but maybe it's debatable sometimes we try to in terms of security or safety we try to travel on two boats okay so some people want say okay I'll go to India try for two or three years and if it's good I'll stay otherwise I'll come back right now this this has a difficulty the reason is Major if you come with that mindset majority of the times it's not going to work out okay I'm not saying you shouldn't have a base you know you might have house and all of that and everything you need to have you need to come especially if you're starting a business or something definitely if you're starting a business you need to come with a conviction because it's going to be tough especially buiness if you're coming on the job and almost semi-retired and all

57:01 Of that that's fantastic there's no issue but if you're coming to start a business and if you're thinking if it works I'll stay if it doesn't work I'll jump back it's not going to work most of the times yeah right so my University gave me an option so why don't you go on sabatical for two to three years and if it works you know you can stay it was a good golden opportunity for me to remain on the payroll sabatical and all of that and but I know that it's going to be a very tough Journey so if I kept my sabatical option came back to India the kind of difficulties we faced I would have jumped back it was that tough at certain points at least three times in those three and a half years I came at least two times it was tough really really tough and because of the ambitiousness of the project it was really tough a number of things on financial side on legal side and other

58:01 Things but because I did not keep that option I you know I I had to go through that and it paid off it it really paid off you know I'm glad I never regretted for you know that oh my God you know why did I come back I so yes you know if you have a house things if your son is staying in the University there that's all okay but if you're coming on an ambitious plan to start something in India to settle down here make sure that you know you don't think like oh it's an experiment you know it's think that it's a it's a life thing yeah you know your life depended on it think like that it's your life to now that's the thing I would say U because I have seen a number of people probably about at least 30% going back yeah didn't work out I observed while I was in the UK observed they went and they came back and and they went and they came so yeah so you know come

59:03 Come with a plan that your life depends on it then you know then then and I really wish all the best for the people who are planning to come and from my side I would probably summarize this way last 30 years belong belong to India yeah I I strongly believe that yeah no thanks a lot for that I think I wanted to go back to like how we started right I think when you said 70% think about right at least talk about moving back to India but only like only very few person actually move back it's very on the minority side and I think this goes back to what you're saying right one is talking you know when you meet on a weekends you just talk but on the weekday you're back to the routine and then you just but the key point is just take some time put some thought put it on paper pros and cons evaluate it staying in abroad is also fine but at least you made an

1:00:03 Informed decision you made a decision yes I want to stay in abroad or I want to move back to India everything is fine but at least you put some thought a solid thought and made a rational decision at that given point of time before life goes by and you don't want to have the regret I think the one you mentioned about where people have this regret wish I have done that or wish I have done that but at least you can say hey thought about it I don't think it's a right fit for me I I made the right decision which is which is fantastic you won't have any regrets in the Life later in the point so the point is take some time think about it and see what's right decision for your family that's one thing I just definitely wanted to highlight and then I think the other point you mentioned about the safety net yes you know you can't have it on two boards the key point there also is the what's the major pulling Factor there will be hurdles everywhere whether you're living even and abroad whether you're living in India there will be like no place is perfect there will be some challenges but if you are clear with your major driving factor that makes you going in terms of what you do

1:01:04 And so yeah thanks a lot for your time thanks a lot for all your advice and I know it's been a long but I think you know it's worth it to hear someone who has done this and who has established something from his lifelong plan right I think you know someone who is even qualified but didn't take it just to implement it who had opportunity like a golden opport opportunity decided to fast forward the plan has an option to be back as a safety net decided not to do it that shows like how much serious you are about your dream project or about what you want to do so thanks a lot for sharing your journey with us I I hope this is valuable to a lot of our audience and wish you all the best with your you know project with school and everything and yeah thanks again thank you AOS it's been a great pleasure talking to you and hopefully things that we discussed to help our friends who are thinking about it but thank you very much indeed and wish all the best for the for the people who are

1:02:04 Planning to come back thank you thanks a lot