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Coming Home to India After a Long Time
Mom and Dad look slightly older every time they pick me up from the airport. Though I video called on a very regular basis, the real picture still surprises me with every visit.
I am at the bottom of my energy levels after a 13-hour flight in economy class. By the time I land, all I want is to get out of that air travel world in which I was for 20 hours now.
When I see my parents on the other side, I remember that they have been actively tracking every step of my journey through the night. Actually even before I started to pack and actively think about my time here.
Mom has tears in her eyes. But shamelessly, I can’t reciprocate. It hardly feels like an emotional journey after the actual one.
LinkedIn and the media always have me convinced that the world has changed immensely in India, and that Hyderabad is a bustling hub of modernization and development.
So I always return with anticipation. And it always looks exactly the same as the last time.