Watch: Jamie Alter Return to India for Cricket Journalism

3:19 Just wasn't for me I realized that I was more Indian in many many ways that I had been or than I was aware of I was a bit homesick and I wasn't happy with my job I was working for a for a financial consulting job company I was spending a lot of time as many many daes do when you go overseas you're you're watching Cricket on Willow TV you're tracking Crick info I was spending a lot of time I was obsessed with Cricket because my father was was into cricket and I I grew up in India so you you often do end up being that kind of a passionate Cricket fan so it was a combination of not being satisfied with my jobs missing home and wanting to do something which was more aligned to my interest which was cricket so in 2005 I decided to Chuck away the American dream if you want to say that and come back to India and become a become a cricket journalist and almost 19 years later here I am great no I mean I can see some of these trophies and some balls there right like so you go so did he grow up

4:23 Like playing and have you played Cricket

4:25 Before getting into journalist just curious yeah not at any very serious level I I played you know with my friends on the back on the back tennis court I played for my school I actually I actually ended up playing a fair bit more Cricket when I went to when I went to college in the US in a small town called Worster Ohio because as as happens with so many people who especially South Asians you do look for that connect and when you see likeminded DA's Indians pakistanis Sri Lankans Bangladesh Nepali zimbabweans a couple from the West Indies you do sort of have that common ground of hey let's play cricket as you do you speak to your oncampus social activities Department you you raise some funds you get a mat I remember we got a mat was shipped from I think Houston to Ohio we got pads and bats so again that that common ground of you know of Bollywood films and and and Cricket so having played so much more Cricket during my college

5:25 Years which was not something I probably thought I'd be doing as much of so the spark to short and then I used to write for our for our College Newspaper our match reports you know because one of the great one of the greatest things about being at a liberal arts college in the states is there's really no boundaries if you want to write or you want to submit to the cool to the College Newspaper an article about your Club cricket match yeah that they're going to do it so all these things sort of align in a certain way my father was I mean he loved Cricket it was his favorite sport so I grew up in a household where we watch cricket we heard about Cricket so very much it was it was there in my head but if you had told me Avinash at 18 when I left India to go to the state that you know I'd be back in six years to be a cricket journalist I would said yeah please that's that's that's not possible but you know life life does throw you the odd curve ball or the googly if we're talking to Cricket yeah and now it's been 19 years I've been covering Cricket I've covered World Cups across the world I've covered cricket across

6:26 The world I'm still doing this I host a couple podcasts I go on news channels and YouTube channels to discuss we have the IPL going on right now in 2016 I started a a club for likeminded media people who are into Cricket that's where all these trophies are from so as you can see Cricket is in fact probably not in this Frame but a lot of the interviews I've taken with cricketers verat kohle Rohit Sharma shman Gil I've got them framed behind so it is very very much a part of my existence in fact I'll be very honest one of my seniors I was a sophomore he was a he was a year he told me off the just one random like what I see you going back to India and working for Crick info I was like okay Rahul thanks but Rahul Rahul Bala God bless his heart he's in Singapore now he saw something that I didn't see this obsessed guy with Cricket who who who knows the game loves the game plays the game writes on the game why shouldn't a natural progression be that he becomes a sports journalist so somewhere I give a

7:27 Bit of credit to my good friend rul love for that oh so interesting yeah no thanks for sharing that so so much passion so much you know everything revolves around the cricket like I think from a family like growing up and everything so it's good to know I know I think you mentioned about going to us to explore right I think as your mom was trying to you know have you that exposure how was the life there I mean growing up in India and you know you kind of touched a little bit was there anything specific that you kind of felt or you know what made you to think about like moving back to

8:05 India you know it's it's it's actually pretty pretty unique I think I mentioned this a couple other times on other shows as you can see looking at me I don't look like I I'm Indian and I I don't I mean so so I stand out here ainash and I thought if I go to the US I wouldn't stand out naive naive 18yearold thinking you get there the moment you open your mouth it at the campus cafeteria be it anywhere at a Starbucks at a restaurant at a gas station 7-Eleven wherever you are I start talking and people are like oh what what's what's that accent you know so I'm like here we go I'm I'm I'm not making this up at all I actually reached the stage where I said if you're going to stand out in India if you're going to stand out in America which place is it actually going to be easier for you to explain things you know in 2002 2003 2004 to try and explain to the average American behind the counter a cashier why I sound this

9:07 Way it was actually more taxing than to tell someone you know what hey in India here's here's what it is I I grew up here my father is a famous Bollywood actor that was confusing but I found it's easier to be accepted here than it was there you know so it was it was just that like I mentioned I was homesick I just I I just wanted to come back and do something later to Cricket and in 2003 2004 it was impossible to even think of that while being in North America now is now things are different I know a lot of people who actually even Americans who become Cricket journalists and who work for ESPN and the like but in 2003 maybe I'm not saying it was a possibility maybe had there been Avenues to you know maybe go to go from Boston to Connecticut the next state over and work for ESPN because their headquarters are there had that been a possibility in 2004 maybe I would have done that and not necessarily come back but that combination of sort of not fitting in there realizing that you're actually yes

10:08 Your lineage is American but you're actually not because you spent 18 years in India you're you have an Indian passport you you you speak Hindi you're naturally drawn more towards Indians and daes than Americans I think all these factors were what sort of madebe me realize let's just go back yeah and also like some of the conversations right the top topics that are interesting to you and the you know discussions it's different cool so just to confirm like so when you decided to move back so you already have the plan to become a journalist or you just wanted to be back home and then you just packed your stuff and moved back to India in short that's what happened so like I mentioned I was working just outside of Boston at a at a financial services company called sunlife Financial it was around New Year years time of

11:00 2004 going to 2005 that the emotions became really stirred and I said you know what you can think about India you can watch movies you can watch cricket what are you going to do and I've said this before it was like a scene from a movie you know you you rock up to office you I mean if you know New England it snows for like what six months of the year there it's dismal dreary imagine I I went to Ohio where it's cold in jurry and then Boston I'm like what are you doing here but again most of my family was was in Boston so in the New England area so literally ainash it was a scene from a movie it was about a 45 minute drive down Route 9 from where I was staying to the office dead of winter you know like I said you know new years's you get up in the morning you you have to shovel the snow off your own car y y y i Rock up to office I think I had to be in office at like 7:40 in the morning I I I sit down I brush the snow off my hair and my jacket I put on the PC and it may sound like a like a scene

12:03 From a movie as that computer started to come to life I said I said boot up yeah I said where are you going to be in five years and somehow the answer came in that in that black screen sitting right here I said yeah I'm done I'm done okay now it's one thing saying I'm done and you have this Epiphany are you going to act on it and if so what do you do the digital era was well and truly booming in in America and the west but in India it was still it was there but there were very few websites but cric info which is now ESPN Crick info was like the Bible for all of us like we saw it in 98 in high school in North India then it just sort of became this in fact even how Crick info was started by you know by expats in North America missing the game so somehow the whole DNA of Crick info just appealed to people people like me who were in a different country trying to track the games I said look if you want to take this jump and leave and go I'm saying go

13:05 Back home but still change countries change jobs yes you're going back to a familiar country which you miss but you didn't come to America to become a cricket journalist right you could have done that by staying back in India so this is a very different and a bold jump if you want to do that you may as well go to the place which you're most familiar with that is ESPN not ESPN back then it was wisdom wisdom trick info so I hop online I looked at the I look at the applications they said you know we want passionate young people who who want to excel in cricket and they said you don't necessarily have to have a media a Media communication or a masscom degree I said ah there you go perfect so I typed up my I mean I fix up my resume because I mentioned to you AB I used to write things for like for my school newspaper and I had those they're on a on on those on those floppy floppy drives so I print out three I think

14:06 Three samples a CV a cover letter why I want to join as you can imagine 2003 you have to go to you have to go to Staples get it printed out on A4 sheet stick it in the manila envelope so I actually posted these documents to cric info's Bombay office Chennai office and hammmer Smith London office here goes thinking what are they going to do they're not going to get back they did get back the editor and chief Mr samit Bal he got back maybe six weeks later saying oh great great great you know you have the the sparkers there can you meet me I said I think it was by Feb by now I said Thank you first of all blah blah blah blah blah as you might have realized I I did mention that I'm in North America I'm not I can't just fly down to meet you I do have a I had to have a a scheduled trip in the month of September when when I'm coming back to Bombay Mumbai I could meet you then send

15:07 It off as I would find out years later not years later a few months later some is very bad with email he repli saying yeah yeah great great great when you're in in in in Mumbai in September come and see me take now that's not enough for me to say hey I'm going to become a journalist no no no someone has said come and meet me now I'm a daisy at heart I know what and meet me means okay okay anyways September rolls around I'm back in Mumbai I've told my my father he actually knew samit but I didn't want to use that rot samit who used to be the editor of various magazines and the magazine called gentlemen and he had commissioned my father to write some sports stories in the early 90s s probably drew the line but I didn't even want to use that angle so anyways so I go to the office and I walk in there I start seeing faces and names that I was very familiar with I'm like wow I hope this works out because I could be in this everyone's talking cricket there's Cricket on about five TV

16:08 Stations there's no formal workware there's guys wearing caros and chinos they're you know they're playing softball Cricket I go in there I meet samit he he literally asked me three questions and they were do you have any formal degree SL trading in media I said no second question question was do you read a lot of Indian newspapers and do you read do you watch Indian news channels I said no and the third question was I'm forgetting what it was now but he said done you're hired I said huh yeah yeah so can you start now I realized he hadn't he's a lovely sweetheart suit Bal he had realized that I hadn't packed up and come I just come back for I said I said sir so you're saying I've got the job yeah yeah okay okay hey yes I said I need a I need an offer letter that'll come you just join I said sir I need to go back to Boston I need to tell my boss that I'm leaving I need to sell my flat sell my car oh okay

17:11 So hurry up so that's it so so I without that offer letter I just I I flew back I told my boss Steve Stone fantastic guy I said Steve hey Jamie come on what's Happening how's your trip I said yeah fine I said Steve I'm going to be resigning I'm going to go back to India to become a cricket journalist absolutely fantastic sounds awesome so so guy like Steve Stone who grew up in New England didn't know cricket from you know an apple cart said you know what if this is what this guy wants to do you know go for it so that was a nice way to end off and then I got the flat I sold off the car packed up everything October 10th 2005 I joined criek info and 19 years later here I am rest is the history yeah the progression so congratulations so yeah so Jimmy I think you know just from your perspective you know you have spent

18:12 The first 18 years growing up in India and then spent like you know five years or six years in us and then kind of returned back so even from 2005 to 2024 you know from your perspective what are the things that you have seen as like the development or the changes in India anything that you can share so people who might be considering about moving back to India for good anything that you can share from your perspective the developments that are happening the cons the pros you know from what you from your perspective sure I mean as you can imagine 19 years the

18:47 Development has been through the roof you know just being just being part of the digital I won't say Revolution but the digital rise from 2005 to now it's it's so right in in so many ways it's almost like India the nation went from the 19th century to the 21st century and just skip the 20th century right because so many things just went boom and I'm talking about when the when the economy was opened up in what 1991 right imagine that the debt that the nation was in you know and it was so far behind in many ways the rise was so rapid and I don't think the country necessarily was ready for that rise but I can say say to anyone wanting to come back you probably won't miss a lot of what you have there now again I'm talking about you know my own perspective of spending six and a half odd years in the US I don't necessarily Miss yes of course there are better things you know you can look at so many factors and say oh The Grass Is

19:48 Always Greener if you can somehow detach that looking back over your shoulder mentality i' I've done it it doesn't mean the next person can do it but the opportunities to work the the opportunities to earn a livelihood I would assume they have gotten far far better you know because it's because the connect between the East and the West to use that cliche has actually opened up so much more you know from a from a financial aspect there's more opportunity you can get so much more you know that said I I mean there obviously there are there are problems I live in NOA where the pollution remains a massive problem but even the Noida that I shifted to work in 2011 you know in 12 odd years has improved so much that now there's so opportunity you know there's a time when I'm like you know how long having grown up in a place like Mumbai and then worked in Bangalore you know how how would I adjust to this place which has a reputation of being the Wild Wild West you know so but again in what in a matter of a decade or so you know

20:49 Things have improved so much here that it's it's it's actually a decent you know lifestyle to have again there's there's many many problem I'm not going into the politics of where this country is that's for everyone else to assess but if someone like me can can be staying here for 19 years after six years excuse me overseas and have no regrets not feel like packing up and leaving the country with a 9-year-old kid again it's just one example but I think I speak for myself and my wife it's at least in my experience it's a very very good place to live that said you have to understand if someone is coming back where are you going I have many friends who've left not just America but Australia the UK Europe they haven't necessarily come back to where they're from the big cities a lot of them have gone towards Goa because you know it's just a better healthy environment it's not so polluted a lot of people go to the hills so I think if

21:49 Someone has the the notion to come back or they're thinking about it seriously just have a clear goal where are you are you going to be I would assume someone in banking Finance in that sphere would have a slightly easier transition because your experience maybe your company is is bringing you back and then you know all the amenities are taken care of if you're a family or an individual coming back and trying to start from a fresh that could be a whole different kettle of fish I don't know but the 19 years that I've been back things have improved so much you know it's actually a rather simple place to live I would say that yeah I mean the opport unities the even the paid difference or like the savings that you can I think things have changed a lot in the last decade I think as you said I think we skipped one century completely yeah yeah so maybe one other question is regarding the kids education I think just curious maybe in your case like you know what kind of curriculum does he go to does your son

22:51 Go to and anything that you can share like you know why you selected that and how you know he mingles just curious on

22:57 That yes so my son goes to a schoool here in NOA he's he's in the IB program in fact just a few weeks ago he's in grade four going the grade five and the school send the option of do you want to stick with IB or do you want to do cbsc we said we'll just we'll just stick to IB it's a it's a curriculum that we're sort of I wouldn't say more familiar with but we become exposed to it we've warmed up to the concept I think like the case with me and my father before that there is definitely that that Avenue that when my son graduates from high school he would naturally be encouraged to go and get a degree overseas you know just because that's what I still feel gets you a bit more opportunities I know I've said that India is more it's it's progress and it's more developed but someone like him mixed race you know I would assume when he's 18 I mean it's his choice but my wife and I would gently encourage him like I was encouraged to go and to go and pursue an education over overseas

23:59 And and the school that he goes to here it is a fairly international school there are kids from other countries largely still an Indian school but the way that school was set up and is run it does sort of keep you in that International School environment so again I mean for people who are who have kids and and are looking to come back so many so many schools across the country are doing IB the standards the physical standard of school have gone through be at the sporting infrastructure the way the schools are run the buses you know it is it has been done very very deliberately I assume to cater to a certain clientele people which would also include the NRI Community sure sounds good is there anything that we haven't covered that you would like to bring up or any advice for the people who are thinking about returning back to

24:51 India I don't know because look it's it's it's just one's one man's word my word against someone else is you know I do know people who've come back and it hasn't been for them and then they've gone back or they've struggled to go back so it just it just comes down to the individual whether you're a single person or you have a family to consider just try and cover all the bases because I don't know how long somebody would have would have been away from I assume the connect would be there that one generation detached would still be here they would have family here just know exactly what you want to do you know I was like I mentioned I was 24 when I Chuck the American dream away to come back many would say 24 how did you do it maybe I was extremely fortunate maybe I was I had the opportunity of my mother and father being here my father was well known I could have used those context I didn't as I said but I just realized at 24 that life would actually in my case looking at what I wanted to get into it was 100% easier to live and survive and

25:54 Work in India than it was for me to be their America all my other family were there I have so many relatives who could have helped me out who could have given me a place to stay some did in fact but for what I wanted to pursue at 24 the only option was to come back to India so I think that would I would assume be the common factor what is bringing someone back to India work I'm guessing number one maybe a better lifestyle I don't know that's up to the individual but just be very very clear in what you want to do and beyond that just just go for it yeah for sure yeah no thanks a lot Jamie for sharing your story and the insights of your life in India and it's so wonderful to know someone who is so passionate and enjoying that right I think what you really like so thanks again for taking the time and talking to us today my pleasure thank you this was fun great thank you all for joining us on

26:55 This insightful journey of Dy return if you enjoyed this episode and want to explore more stories and expert advice make sure to subscribe and hit the notification Bell don't forget to leave a comment below with your thoughts and experiences by the way check out the links in the description below for our Facebook group and social media for updates and engaging discussions as well as connecting with fellow the wrers thank you once again and until next time may your D journey be filled with joy growth and endless possibilities