It is a great relief to go to India for any reason even for a few hours. Sometimes I feel like I have been put in a jail in the UAE; bound by circumstances and unable to return to the shining India. It is the lack of options that strike you while you are outside India.
Our country is vast and it has more options to grow and do things than any other country in the world. It has beaches, deserts, hills, and snow, all under one roof. It has many languages, cast, and religion. World class education facilities, health care facilities, cultural and other forms of diversity from one end to the the other is immense.
The strides India has taken and is going to take in areas of importance such as education is remarkable. I have a wish list of things to do once I am back.
More importantly, I used to hate Kerala for its politics. But when you are outside the country and enjoy not as much freedom of expression as in India, you begin to realise what you are missing; just as you understand the value of an eye only when you become blind.
So many expatriates in situations where they have come to a country with the mere objective of ‘saving money’, often suffer in silence because they can neither save money nor live with their children, wife, father, and mother. It is hard enough for most to be away from their home land. It is harder when things don’t move as you hoped it would, and instead end up taking course completely opposite.
I have been fortunate to visit and also stay for a few months in the capital Delhi. Travelled up to Guwahati in the north east. Made many visits to Rishikash, Haridwar, Dehradun, and Mussourie belt of the present Uttar Khand. But more interesting is my wish list for further travel. That shall include Kashmir, Punjab up to the Wagah border. Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer of Rajasthan, Gandhijis Gujarat. Lalu’s Bihar, Shillong, Sikkim, Shimla, Kulu Manali and many small hill stations of Himachal. Darjeeling of West Bengal, the list goes on and on…
