Watch: Stay in Custody or Take a One-Way Ticket to India?

2:50 India that that way. I knew more about American folk music, American rock music, Bob Dylan and I used to read more Eston Hemingway than our own scriptures, culture, our own books and our own music. So that was the initial bit of landing in America on a tech job, tech marketing job with salary. And I did not go to America to work. So my journey is a little different. Got it. Great. So, sounds like I think your dream or wish came true. Like I think you got the opportunity to be in US in 1997. So, how was the life in US? oh, I learned a lot. It was fabulous. Some of the companies I had admired now they were my neighbors. I was in middle of the Silicon Valley. and I was on a work visa was an H1B and that meant that from day one I had money in my pocket.

3:42 So the consumer part of a youngster became very alive. I learned a lot in terms of the American culture. I traveled a lot extensively in America. So it gave me new freedoms that I could not have imagined. My passion was photography in India and I could now buy most expensive equipment, take photography courses and pursue that passion very seriously. So it gave me a

4:08 Platform to explore my myself in full detail. so wonderful experience. It was a dream come true. that was my first experience. Worked for a startup, got hired by Oracle. worked in product management. So I literally moved from sales to marketing to product management, product marketing. Yeah. So a lot of learning and my growth happened exponentially. >> Great. So sounds like the life has been fantastic and everything is going great. So why the thought of India started brewing and when it happened? Avin we are blessed that we have seen the west from a distance growing up in India and we also blessed that we have seen India from a distance and both are equally attractive. [laughter] So when I was in America I started missing home. I started missing what we took for granted in India. The

5:08 Community, the food, the culture, the

5:11 Vibe, the travel, family. so there was a lot of you know, we'll travel to India every year and the more you would travel, the more you would miss India and so parts of me were looking at being back in India and we all go through this X+1 syndrome. I'll think about it next year. >> Yeah, >> let me get my green card. So I was in my green card process. So one had that thought but I was not taking that big step of coming back to India. I would come back to India had head hunt for look for jobs window shop for jobs. How much will I get? How much will I not get? Typical. >> Yeah. >> But then I would go back into my own comfortable Silicon Valley Bay Area vibe and job and you know had a nice life, convertible car, girlfriend all that thing was happening for me in America.

6:00 So then again a wave will happen. let me come back to India. Then I think by God's grace a mishap hadand happened happened and I found myself back in India. This is post 911 and I have my own my name is Khan story. So I found myself back being back in India. So my life really got spliced into two parts. One continued for a few months in India and one continued for a few months in America and part of it the second reel started happening in India. It didn't happen because I chose to. There was a thought but something else triggered which were the circumstances which found me back in India. >> Yeah. Would you be open to share like what that circumstances are like and what triggered it? I mean I think you were exploring it but may not be serious but there is something that made that decision come true. So 1999 2000 my

6:52 Company Oracle that time acquired companies in in Holland. So I would spend 15 days in San Francisco Bay area, 15 days every month traveling to manage my team in Utre which is near Amsterdam. so I had I built friendships in Holland. One of them was a Indian friend living in Holland and working for Oracle. So when she decided to get married in May in March of 2001, she told me you have no reason to now complain. I'm giving you advanced notice. November end Thanksgiving weekend, long weekend. I'm getting married in in Italy so you have to come to to be in my wedding. So I planned for it, got my visa, travel documents, ticket, all of this was organized in March, April of 2001. September 9/11 happens and everything changes in America. Everything you took for granted changes in America. By October, November, we thought it'll be all okay.

7:49 So I took my chance and I traveled outside of the US for a 5-day long weekend Thanksgiving weekend Italian wedding with the Indian touch experience. And when I came back to

8:03 My first port of entry Chicago, I went through something called a secondary investigation. >> and that led me to a very different experience. but I found myself being cross-examined for something I had not done. I can understand there was a lot of stress with the that time called INS immigration officers and I could see that I'm not going to win that argument. from Chicago to India. And all I could think about was my mom and my family at that point in time. I had a beautiful life set up in the Bay Area as I shared with you semi-luxurious lifestyle very very happening but then when such things happen you just think about the bare minimum and for me that was coming back to India so I chose to be back in India my company did help me for first 6 months after that episode so you know there are episodes in life when all the doors shut on you and you start

9:05 Questioning why you know why me what did I do Bhagwan why me? Why is why why ishwara why me? So I went through that phase in 2001 2002 sudden but luckily I found myself back in Bengaluru Bangalore that time and I found myself on a new career in tech only with a company based out of Bangalore. I stayed in Bangalore for few years. but there was always that self-doubt about hey I didn't really decide to come back to India. I was forced that oneway ticket to India. So then I took my second chance and I left again. So 2001 was a very interesting experience. I did appeal to INS with the best lawyers in America. I was maybe spent close to $50,000 and that appeal is still pending with with the INS office in Chicago.

9:56 Most of which if you search my name, my story appeared in New York Times, Times India, San Jose Mercury News. and I did return to America a few years later for visits but I woke up from my American dream because I thought the process will take it through. You know a person at the immigration counter can

10:15 Make a mistake but I had complete faith in the process but when I saw that being broken for outsiders still had faith in the American system and processes but that got broken in 2001. No. thanks for sharing that again how life changed so much like you know just suddenly right I think you know everything changed from that episode is there anything that you can share with the viewers like you know things that they have to watch out or think they have to plan or prepare maybe in your case maybe you are single at that time so it was easy for you to you know move back or do certain things but someone who has been living there for a certain time you know anything that you would advise or suggest based on your experience?

11:07 >> I would suggest that post 2001 and now 25 years later, things haven't improved in America. In fact, they've gone worse. So, I would always have a plan B. something goes wrong and it can go wrong, what to do. I had not built my plan B. I had taken for granted the beauty of the American system. So, that's one thing I would do is plan B, build a plan B. And secondly, if you're in doubt and if you have an Indian passport, please come back to India. You don't need a visa. You it's your home state, home country, home nation. And if you've gone through some experiences which created trauma for you could be personal, professional combination like I went through a severe time. This is the best place to heal yourself and bounce back. You can go back go back to America again. you can go back to like I went to Europe next time I went to England that time UK was part of Europe so EU so yes you can bounce

12:08 Back but India is a place of great healing but interestingly my mom said to me don't share your story with your relatives because they will not not understand the context >> so I did not say enough much to my relatives but but all my friends and their friends my friends in America their families in India the support system I enjoyed wherever I went. People were so welcoming and so comforting. I saw a different part of India which I hope that not everybody gets to experience but if you do it's the best place to heal yourself and rebuild if you've gone through some trauma. I'll give you an example. >> In America we don't honk horns right. So I would be in my sleep deep sleep in India back in India from my experience in US and then I would wake up because at 5:00 in the morning the milk lorry outside has honked for the milk that was and I would say but where am I? So, in my dream when the honk has happened, I'm driving my beautiful Ford Mustang

13:09 Convertible on Pacifica one expressway highway, beautiful I I don't know if you've been to San Francisco, but it's a coastal highway and suddenly I thought somebody's honking me from behind a Y. So, I woke up. So, the these are very

13:22 Traumatic times and but the support you get in India, the love you get in India, the human to human connection you get in India helps you bounce back. So those are two things I would do. One was to do plan B. >> And the second would be if you're in doubt right now things are not positive for many of us in America or even other parts of India. Don't think twice. We are in a much better place in 2026 than we were in 2001. And yeah so those are two two points I would suggest. >> No thank you. So how was the life in India? Because this was not something that you chose. I know even though you were exploring it, it was a force and I think you have it in the back of the mind that you want to prove that's why you went with the legal system. You wanted to be back again in this. So how was the life in India? I know you mentioned about healing aspect also like this proving something that you want to show maybe to the society to yourself or whatever that that could be.

14:22 So if you can talk about that like when you moved back from US >> I was in so how things how doors shut on me and few months later a door started opening up for me. So I'm meeting an old friend over a cup of coffee at a CCD in Wasant Vihar in Delhi. I'm wearing my civil systems shirt and these three men on the other table this is a real life incident. They walk up to us and they one of them asks me do you work for this company or you just wearing a shirt. So I said both are true. I'm wearing a shirt now but I used to work for this company. So he gave me his card and said my name is Praep Singh. I am the CEO founder of Talesma and I have a team in Seattle. I live in Seattle and I have a team in Bengaluru. If you ever decide to work in India, please come and see me in Bengaluru. We can do with some of your skills. So I did not apply.

15:17 >> Yeah. So this is the part right life can be a very interesting sign curve higher the highs and lower the lows and u lowest the lows. So I found myself in Bengaluru for travel purposes and I just said let me go and meet this team and I met them and it was a fun wonderful meeting. All I'm saying to you is in India things do happen to you for a for for a reason and for positivity but it does take time. I could not have planned it. So I got an interview that happened. I met with the team I got an offer and I negotiated the offer and I rebuilt my career my 2.0 in India. >> and even at that time there were enough opportunities. Now we're in 2026.

16:03 >> I came from a non tech background. so even then I could find marketing opportunities, product marketing opportunities, product management opportunities. However, in 2000, later 2004, 2005, there were not many opportunities for product managements. There were not many around. but now if you're a UX designer from the US, if you're a product manager, you could you you can name a domain, nuclear medicine, you can name a domain and we'll find you an opportunity in India. It does take time. Plan for 3 to 6 months to settle down and have something which you would like to do. Many more opportunities in

16:39 India. You can do industry internships. You can go and work for companies for a stipen only in India and just learn the local industry, the local vibe. we definitely very global now in what we do in India. A lot of GCCs are in India. >> so it does take time to settle back in but it is very much possible. >> Got it. >> I know this is something that you mentioned we start appreciating what we took for granted right in India especially when we live in west. So once you moved back to India, so you started appreciating things in a different way. But why again going back to UK like again you know when there is an opportunity you rebuild your career like you know the warmth appreciating few other things. so why again back to Europe or UK?

17:31 >> It was more to prove myself prove to myself that this wasn't something which was handed on to me and London always fascinated me. So let's me let's I said let me go and see if I can do something in London. So on the whim of a moment I filled up something called HSMP highly skilled migrant program which is a point-based system and I qualified. So just for the heck fluke of it for the heck of it I filled up the form and before I knew it I was in London just exploring what can I do in London and I've always been lucky that my breaks have happened because of my word of mouth because of my network people I've known people I've worked with. So one such incident happened where one of my friends got to know I'm in the UK and I have my own work credentials. I have my own status to work in America in in London. He said why don't you come and help me with my current company. I'm acquiring many companies. I want to roll them up and I want somebody to study the ship and make sure this these companies work as per the forecast.

18:33 >> So I found myself an opportunity. So I had thought about this part that I have to prove to myself not to anybody else. >> That I will I decided on my own to come back to India and that happened later on in 2007. >> Got it. And when did you move to UK? >> I left in 2004 July. I worked for a company as a marketing director. CMOs are called marketing directors. in the UK I was on the board of a small company technology services company where I built their marketing function from scratch and I deployed the global delivery model. So my design was happening in California. my development and delivery was happening from Bengaluru and so the board was very happy. We delivered a lot of our results ahead of time and within the budget. So I said if I can make this global delivery model work for this company why not go for similar company similar midsize mid-size companies in the UK and that was my next venture which did well and we scaled it up and then we sold it

19:34 And then I was in 2007 I was wondering what to do next should I stay back in the UK it was time for me to get my visa renewed my HSMP renewed for another 2 years which ultimately would have gotten me the UK passport or should I think

19:49 About doing something else so I got my family to travel to the UK, my sister, my nephews and nieces and all that happened and then post which Microsoft reached out to me in sector marketing. So I found myself back in India in 2007 July August. >> Yeah. So I know I think the second time you had this opportunity from Microsoft and you know you have to apply like what is the reason like why you thought India would be better and not to continue in UK or on the best part of the world like what is is there a motivation or is just like you want to experience different things so what was going on in your mind when you're making that decision so last 18 months when I was in London I was there for almost 3 years last 18 months when I built my company based out of u Bengaluru and London. I was traveling every 6 weeks to India.

20:49 >> So every 6 weeks, 6 weeks in the UK, in London, central London, 2 weeks in India and then back to 6 weeks in the UK. I was building a team. We went from 0 to 18 in less than four 5 months in India. And we had a beautiful office on 100 ft road, Indranagar. So all that was happening. And the more I traveled to India, something interesting happened. Ainina when I was in India I did not miss my London life. I was in zone one, zone 2. I was in Maway, little Venice, beautiful neighborhood, had a nice car and nice lifestyle with lot of money at my dispos disposal and so but I would not miss my London life in India. But before I would travel to India for 2 weeks, one week before there'll be a lot of anticipation, who will I meet, what food will I eat? So when I did this and I was doing this every 6 weeks I decided that something was happening to me which was much more happier and fulfilling in India than in

21:50 My London experience. So when that's when I sold that company I wasn't I was still in two minds. So I got my parents to travel, my mom to travel, my siblings to travel, my you know external family traveled and then I

22:05 Got it black and white that if I want to stay with them, stay connected with them, enjoy their being together with me or I being together with them, I have to be back in India. And then at the same time Microsoft approached me and meetings happened and it took us 4 months to find a role suitable role for me. And so I said why not? >> And did you move back to Bangaluru or was it in Delhi when you moved back from UK? >> I had choices of Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai or Delhi. >> Okay. >> And my heart was in Bengaluru. My heart still lives in Bengaluru. But because my family was in Delhi and my mom felt that I should be back in Delhi, I chose Delhi and not an easy place to come back to but it worked out well. So now I live in Delhi.

22:55 So I know it's been more than 15 years since you're back to India and things have evolved changed you saw it from different lenses so how are things in India like how was the life like after the second move and what you have seen so far in the last 15 years a lot has changed from technology perspective from consumer experience perspective we still have many issues we don't have best of roads We have pollution challenges. but a lot of things have happened. For example, I never believed that the way government has taken on use of technology in India. I mean UPI is a current new example. But even before that, municipal corporations taking your council tax property tax online. I never thought this will be possible. I mean for us a lot of us who are pre200 generation a lot of things in India are still like a wow this is happening in

23:55 India I mean fast tag in India we saw those in America we saw those systems work very well in the UK and you know CCTV cameras road cameras traffic chalance in Europe through your traffic cameras never thought this this will be possible in India so on multiple levels India has evolved and personally it's been fascinating lot of growth both a lot of money as well. and overall when I look at my friends in America, I still have a decent network of friends who are in the valley, San Francisco Bay area. My friends in India in the last 20 years on average have made more money than my friends in America. >> My friends in America, some of them have done exceedingly well. Sold their companies for $100 million cash some of them. But overall if you look at average average my friends in India have done financially much better and I'm just looking at dollar terms I'm not just saying in rupees versus

24:56 >> so there's a lot more and I when I look at India right now we have next 20 years people come to me youngsters come to me which career should I choose which which domain should I choose and I tell them in India next 20 years everything is a growth opportunity you know ainash the funny part is when you're in a boom I am boom economy. You don't realize you're on a boom economy. >> I was in the Bay Area in 2000 98 99 boom time, right? Everything was golden. >> we have a similar rush happening in India right now. But doesn't feel like it because India the base is much larger, bigger. But we are in a booming economy. I mean in India the chalah attitude has somewhat given away to can do spirit. I see this now. We have moved away from being a poverty mindset country to hey let's do it kind of a place. I'm not saying it's all like China for example but we are on the move and when I talk to youngsters in India there's no jenzi in India by the way

25:57 That term doesn't apply very well to

26:00 Young people in India. A young person in Kuramangla, Bengaluru has very little in common with a young person from let's say Shahabad in UP a village in UP right so very diverse experiences but all of them have hunger and ambition now to be successful the entrepreneurship models that people have seen the MBA Chaiwala the Elon Mus stories they're all pervasive now so I see a sense of can I be an entrepreneur even in the grassroots of India So that's a big change. government jobs are still very aspirational >> but second one is can I do something of my own and that that positive vibe is very infectious when you work with youngsters when you talk to startups it's it's happening.

26:48 >> Yeah. From a entrepreneurs perspective how easy is it to build the businesses in abroad versus India like you know someone have that in back of their mind. you know is it bureaucratically very challenging or things have evolved things have changed in India so what are your insights about that a lot has changed a lot needs to change but for example in America it's it was very easy to register a company Delaware corporation you can do it in a couple of hours so now you can do something in India and maybe take take a week's time but within 15 days you can have a GST setup and all that all this all that is taken care of if you have to deal with government in India it's still very cluji it's still very complicated can have levels of corruption but if you're staying away from the government systems if you're renting an office space and executive center in a in a working space I mean a lot of stuff you can actually outsource so from an operational perspective it's much easier now than it used to be 25

27:49 Years back in India. a lot has changed a lot of good regulations have come into being but still it's not the same level as being in America but from a solutioning perspective if you're a startup and if you have an idea and you went to big corporate in India and said look I have a solution for you they would not give you time because who are you how long you've been in business that has changed Ainina in last 20 years >> if you're a young guy beautiful new idea you've on a P the corporates will take you more seriously than they would have done u 20 years back. this is where we are still catching up with the west but I think we're almost there with acceptance of startups and startup ideas in the corporate America.

28:37 I think we are almost there. In fact in India a lot of the family businesses have set up their own capital pool with the family offices to promote and invest in those startups. So a lot of good things have happened from that perspective. The stigma attached to having worked for a startup and failed is no longer there in India. You know it's still so acceptance of you being a startup entrepreneur in India is all-time high. So are we still like a Silicon Valley startup in the Bay Area? No. But there are many startups in America also which struggle. I was sharing with you for example the how things have changed in India. So on a lot of fronts we made a progress but infra wise still we have challenges but not as grave as they were earlier but on the positive side when you hire in India for your startups you have a different energy >> that person may not meet all your expectations on their resume but there's

29:38 A willingness to learn. >> Yeah. Whereas when I would hire for my company in UK, they would say this is what I've done. This is my experience and hire me for who am I you know immediately what can I bring to the table. Whereas in India there's a lot of oh don't worry I only know 60%. Give me an opportunity I'll prove myself. So there's a different sense of energy when you hire in India. the sense different sense of purpose and you can see there's fire in the belly when you hire young professionals in India. I want to go back to this comment you made right you know your friends like in the last 20 years US versus India that's a big bold statement like where do you think this disparity not like disparity like you know where do you think like there is a difference in terms of like why the growth is it from the career-wise or investment wise like what is that caused this change you know between these two worlds see a lot of my friends

30:40 Had to play safe because they had kids in the family. The kids were going through school districts which they they didn't want to change. They didn't want to disrupt them. Kids went to college. There was college education. So a lot of them, not all of them, a lot of them had to restrict their ambition to change places, change jobs or leave a corporate job and and join and do a startup. example, some of them did well because they left their safe jobs in corporates, left Oracle, left large companies and then did startups. So those guys did well. Some of them took a

31:19 Break, went to IV league MBA, did the startups, failed, did another one, succeeded. >> But a lot of them because they hit the their 30s and they all got married, had kids, they had less risk appetite. So those are the things why I I feel in India but in India on average things lifted for everybody in the last 20 years. So that that has been the main reason the industry the entire country has seen a very high level of growth whereas that growth in America was limited to people who took high risk and they got high reward. >> Yeah makes sense. So from your experience what would be your advice for two sets of people? the first one is people who are thinking about going abroad. I mean there are people who still fancy about what west would look like but they might have not experienced it might be only through Instagram or some of the social media. The second one is people who are living abroad but thinking about moving to India. You know

32:21 They might have lived abroad for a couple of decades. You know how things have changed or what would be your advice for these two sets of people? >> Let's take the first one. should you have global exposure? Absolutely yes. Should you be outside of India? Absolutely yes. Should you travel more? Should you live work for months and months in outside of India? Should you have a work visa and live in America of of course yes if you can. But please anchor yourself in India. When a lot of us left, we left with bag and baggage. We said goodbye to India. We sold our lands. We sold our homes and left behind everything and said let's just move back. America is a new home. I would I would request not to make that urgent decision this time around.

33:07 Geopolitically things are changing very fast. There's a lot of global trends if you attract them. there's emergence of new economies that's happening. So you don't want to lose out on being having having a good base in India. >> So I would say anchor yourself in India but be you know don't leave your close your credit card if you're leaving outside of India. Keep your mobile phone, keep your networks in India alive. Invest in a beautiful big home in India. Buy some land in India. Travel globally. Absolutely. travel for long term. I'm not saying you have to just be there for few few weeks for a project. Please go for a couple of years. But always have this phase in your thing in your mind that when we have family, kids, ultimately we want to be back in India. That's one would one view I would encourage you to have a look at it. Earlier we never thought of this way. We always thought about oh America is my new home and that's where I'll be. So be open about that idea of having an anchor in India and only when you have thought through completely when you're 100% sure then you can say wow I'll make a

34:08 Base in in America. Don't buy a home in America. >> Just because you have a family just rent out rent out experiences rent out cars rent out places. So that's part number one for folks in India who want to travel abroad, work abroad, educate themselves abroad. I would not take a fancy loan to do an Ivy League MBA in America. Now I'll be more circumspect about that one. So Ain asked for the second part about folks in America who are thinking about being back in India. One of the reasons you want to be back in India is that for example a lot of us are not are will age very soon. We are in our late 20s, 30s, 40s and you start you want to plan your life ahead. You've [clears throat] got a good career. You've done well. You work for MNC. You've done few years in America. You understand the system.

34:57 You're very global in your outlook. But ultimately, where would you like to live to retire? And this is one big question my friends in America are currently grappling with. >> Yeah. because it's not easy living in a big fancy house and when when you're

35:10 Aging when you're in your older age, you have to move towards the older age home and that's not very that's not a very bright prospect. America is built for young people. old people have to be kept away and so from that perspective you want to be back in India where you can be cared for where you very close to family. So I would suggest that's one of the big reasons why people are looking at coming back to India. And if you decide to come back to India, there are two ways. I took the other way which is I burnt my bridges. I didn't keep any any of my bank accounts in America or London. I sold off everything, closed everything, paid off my debt, came back to India with a clean slate. I don't have anything to compare with or so that's one part. The other is to keep something something growing.

35:58 Some of my friends have homes in America. They're living in India >> but they keep a dual life going. You can continue that doing that for a few years but ultimately you'll have to make a decision one point or the other but then you can play it safe. I would say when you're looking at coming back to India please be ready for reverse culture shock. One culture shock was when you left India for abroad that was more manageable. We all knew what to expect or not to expect. But when you come back to India, the spots of India which have changed, even if you've been out for 5 years, out of India for 5 years, things have changed. So be open and be calm about what you'll experience in India. there is another thing which will happen to you if you come back to India and if you stay here for longer.

36:46 This takes about 18 months to 24 months. This is what I've seen around me, Avin, which is accumulated frustration. really builds up your initial excitement of being back in India wears off and but this is reality if you've stayed outside of India for few years you get used to certain way of working and different parts of India have different vibe but overall you will have frustration from time to time and within 2 years you'll be like I think I've done my time in India I want to go back so you will experience it but if you can stay beyond that so there's a lot of beautiful experiences. When you come back to India, different people have a different time horizon. They'll have kids going to college etc. But if you can decide to build your 2.0, whatever you wanted to do when you were in your early teens, adulthood, young 20s, we all got sort of moved into a career journey because of expectations of the society financial otherwise.

37:48 But this is also a fabulous opportunity like the way you've built your 2.0 to ainach being back in India a lot of us have done so for example I love books so as to read books I could not think of becoming an author so I've become a publisher of books in local languages in India I am not from publishing so India coming back to India does give you that second chance to build your dua or second innings which many of you may have yearned for but the rat race of being in America doesn't let you have that space so by being back in India you can venture, you can think about building your second career and while you're in America, you can have some academic qualifications, you can build some more networks. So, for example, if you if you want to come back to India and do photography full-time, why not learn some more skills while you're in America? So, it's very much possible.

38:40 It's it's not as painful as you think it is. It's more of a mental makeup than physical challenges. U and if you decide to come back to India, you may not want to be back in India in a big city. Many of the companies in India offer you hybrid opportunities to work. So many of people I know now don't live in big city like Delhi or Gura or Bengaluru but they're living in small towns and 10 days a month they will come from Kochi to Bangalore to stay in in in a work environment for 10 days and then next 20 days they're working from home in Kochi. So those are very much possible now you don't have to commit yourself to come back to the traffic area of Bengaluru or madness of Delhi. I think the the question we can ask ourselves is what is the right time to come back to India.

39:33 >> Sure. >> That's not what I've done. So in my experience of having seen so many families transition between US and India most of them have done well if they have moved to India while their kids were still in the early teens. once your kids have become 13 or plus or the younger kids are the easier is it for you to come back to India and assimilate in the local education system and their expectations. it becomes once they are young adults it becomes difficult for you to being able to sell them this idea of being back in India. >> When you visit India next time do spend some time some days outside your family and home systems. Most of us when we would come back to India, it's family, family home and you've not seen what the new workplace looks like in India or what the new communities look like in India. Where I stay in u Gura in terms of the condo I stay in, the apartment community I stay

40:33 In, it's as good or as bad as my first apartment community in America on Northwest Street. So in in Santa Clara. So a lot of us are so much into nostalgia when we visit India for 10 12 days every year you don't experience the other India the new India. So that's what I would encourage you to do next time you're in India take a couple of days separately go with your friends who are staying in these communities working in offices in India and see for yourself you'll see a difference. >> Yeah very very very important point yeah so that you can experience and you understand how it has evolved and changed. Yes. So my friends my friend's parents are in India for example in defense colony they'll say punit why don't you bring your friend back to India. So I'd say auntie why don't you next time he's in India why don't you allow him couple of days to come and stay with me. Yeah, >> once he sees my life, his family will become more comfortable that no, it's things are not as bad. We don't have to fight for parking. Where my where where will my kids play? where

41:34 Where will the cycle? >> All that happens in in the sort of the communities in India that are coming up. So once you've seen that that your workplace is as good as being in the Bay Area, your community where you live is not as as bad as what you thought it is, the only part remaining is public infrastructure. Yeah. >> And that can be managed. You can have a driver to drive you around. >> So those those dull the pain of moving back to India. >> Yeah. Makes sense. So yeah, thanks a lot Mr. Dr. Punit for taking the time sharing your story as well as the insights and advice for people on both sides. so really very very helpful. Thanks again for your time.

42:20 >> Thank you Vinach and I wish all those friends of ours NRIs ambassadors of India who are thinking about coming back to India. I wish you all the best and it's a fabulous place. It's your home. You don't need a visa to come back to India. So seeing you, seeing you in India, I'm very active on LinkedIn. So please get connected. If I can be of any help in your journey or thoughts about coming back to India, I'll be happy to help. >> That's fantastic. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thanks.