Home sweet Home - RETURN

Six years anon leaving homeland I still believe home is where your pedigree is. Being a home owner in a foreign country still doesn’t lend a hand to think that’s your ‘home’. Speak about home and there is this all genus of stuff about where you have come from begins pouring down. I had many foreign colleagues and friends visiting my home land having taken the inspiration from me; may be it is the passion that you have which could impress folks. The home emotions bind in closely with dad and mum which is all the same package for me. In fact some of my colleagues who did a jaunt to Trivandrum met up with my parents and brought me back all those good stories about the place, how much they enjoyed the sandy beaches and greens, how excited they were on the cheap shopping options, those precious antique material and of course the dosas and currys. I also loved to hear about my sweet and caring parents, giggly mom and beautiful home. And then I start terribly missing home and my loved ones there.

The first home you make is obviously something special for you, particularly since you have taken a big step in investment and you have splurged a lot of time, money and effort to customise it to your flavours. In fact here I have the Jills signs for life ‘Home sweet home; where your journey begins’ hanged in front of my entering corridor. Well, the trail in this piece started five years ago and we switched eight rental residences in five years time and lived in many different counties; and the alleyway extended from England to Scotland. And now we take a break near North Sea and bought our first home ‘Kilikoodu’ (yes, I do have the same board hanged in front of my house in Malayalam!). And we anticipate this is the big step and the best step we have taken before we return ‘home’. The decision to move to this top corner was taken after a lot of thinking, analysis and best practice examples.

But then ever since we moved in and in the due course of enjoying our own home we keep reaching the stage to start thinking of an exit plan in the next two to three year period. I am alleged for being so goal oriented that when one gets ticked off the list I robotically get moved on to the next challenge. It is the confidence of my other half in getting things done and the assurance in my potential (which I need to be reminded of occasionally) that helps me going.

The last six years boulevard was eventful and exciting which transformed the way I have cultured to look at things and moulded me as a better person and professional. Places and people around had a significant influence and effect in this course of action. And yes, I am still changing, improving, learning and adapting. I had the opportunity to travel around some different countries, sense the differences, know the customs, stories and myths, various tastes and this has added on to even better comprehend how different and unique everyone is and you can be proud of what you are - “I am enough and more to look at me”

I switched jobs number of times due to various reasons; in fact I toggled my professions and industries from a programmer to organisational strategist to a project manger to an IT consultant; from private sector to public sector, from country to country, onshore to offshore, utilities to health to energy domains...and the expedition still continues. Met a lot of people from various backgrounds, made friends in different parts of the world, became a part of many traditions and festivals…and I absolutely loved and learned all the way through. This has helped me shape myself more malleable, flexible and blending. But then the best part of the learning exercise is how great your belongings are and there is no way you are inferior. There were days previously in my career when I used to be not so comfortable bringing Indian lunch to an open plan office environment on the view that it could be smelly and people would ‘look’ at you. But then I realised in a little while that it is not as bad the ‘tuna’ and ‘sardine’ salads or bakes of the place; and how much fellow colleagues fancy your madras, jalfrezis and the tikka masalas. Oh yes, that adds to you – 95% of foreigners whom I have met extremely adores Indian food; and a good take of them love my cooking. How could someone not like those dosas, bajis and currys. On the contrary, I have come across a lot of Indians who says I prefer something other than core Indian. May be it is the grass on the other side is greener. It is like those Keralites who cannot bear rice and goes for ‘North Indian’. It is the same sort of thing with Keralites who cannot understand or speak Malayalam just because they were born and brought up outside Kerala (wherever it is). To my personal belief, that is cleanly parenting problems where if a parent doesn’t bother to give all those goodies they have had to the next generation or due to ignorance on those goodies. Whereas there are many UK born and bred Asian second and third generation folks fine and well-versed at their native languages (well, languages in their ethnic origins). In fact there are GCSE’s in Punjabi which many of my friends here have picked up for during their edification. Somehow there is a cross section of Keralite community who assumes their native languages are mediocre. It is a shame on how ignorance plays its part there and how they fail to realise how beautiful our language is

These are just so wandering feelings and I need not bother as I don’t have many readers. It is the urge to write sometimes which you would want to re-visit at a later date which gets me to put this together. Blog is a better weapon than those scattered files in your laptop and scribbled pages in your notepad. Having been employed in UK by an Indian parent company is the best paradigm to prove the rate of growth in India. Soon after I accepted an offer for a Consultant position with an American company there was this amalgamation with Indian company (which bought it over!). Though I was suspicious in the beginning I was proud about the merger very soon (obviously terms and conditions and of course my package stays the same!). So, this may be the first stride before RETURN.

It is not that I have a repugnance or antipathy towards UK. No, UK is one of the worthy places I have been. I have built up my career here, met exemplary people, made many warm friends, numerous good stories and lovely moments to cherish through lifetime and many more. And yes, I started my life with my man here which makes this place so special for me. I have done many experiments during the passage; of course with pleasant and unpleasant outcomes – but have never given up. The most we enjoy around here is the work life balance and the time for family. But I think the best part of our UK dynamism would be more of people than places. May be I should start writing about those people – acquaintances, friends, best models, annoying types and the not to follow types.

And yes, it is all about RETURN now – where my home is, where my family is, where I want Tak to see and get all those goodies we had, and where I want to live and love the most, and maybe I want Tak to do the same as we do now. But that would be too much to ask for; I would not stop him flying around where he wants once he is up and ready for that. Some job calls SreeRaj gets for work says ‘Are you ready to relocate for this from your family?’ and the answer is always ‘Of course, my family is in India and I am not there now; and hence fully flexible’. I think myself and Tak are just himself for him and the rest is family! So, RETURN - When and How! I need to put my analysis and PM hat for that as I have got process engineering and risk management resource in-house.