After a wonderful time in SE Asia, we spent our final 3 weeks in India before we head back to America. As we expected the final few weeks in India were quite hectic – from friends and family visiting, a couple of short trips (including Goa), trying new restaurants, spending time with family and trying to figure out next steps (which also meant we were on quite a few calls at night). The weather got much nicer and cooler, although a bit smokier. Traffic got much worse as the holidays approached and NRIs poured in. And the holiday mood set in with Christmas lights and festivities everywhere. Ayaan and Ariana wrapped up school with a Christmas party and boat trip, and as we’ve become accustomed to they learnt the festive songs of “we wish you a merry Christmas”, “jingle bells” and “rudolf”. Their best moments were the CCI Christmas party with cotton candy and rides, and Kidzania where Ayaan loved being a delivery boy and pilot, and Ariana a policewoman and firewoman. Ayaan’s became a fast rider of his bike, albeit still with training wheels. And Ariana is the cutest monster who is still having potty training accidents. We gave up on any effort of getting a nanny and that made our life much happier and easier. I’ve spent a lot of time reading (more than a dozen books) with highlights including Elon Musk’s biography and The Art of Thinking Clearly. Anjali and I once again barely got any time together, all of it mostly sitting in traffic.

My sister Sonil and nephew Siddharth visited us in Mumbai for a few days and it was great so spend time together as a family. We even went on a one night getaway to nearby Lonavala. We stayed at a nice Airbnb called Raheja Cascades, and spent a lot of time hanging out, playing Monopoly cards, chilling in the pool, eating local Maharastrian home cooked food and sitting by the bonfire. Anjali and Ariana decided to stay back in Mumbai and spend time with her family. Our friend Vaishnavi from SF also visited us and we had a fantastic meal at Masque, a unique 10 course experience from the chef trained at Noma and French Laundry. Thank you to friends and family for visiting. Lastly we celebrated an early Birthday for my mom, since we are leaving a few days before, at Bombay Canteen, now rated the #1 restaurant in India run by Cornell MMH alum, that made Anjali smile. Being with family on special occasions is such a joy.

Our highlight of our almost 2.5 month India stay has been seeing the kids and especially Ayaan completely transform into an Indian little boy, including the Indian head nod, doing puja, picking up the phone and opening the door, enjoying the local food and speaking many Hindi word, phrases and singing songs. Having them experience the Indian culture through all the festivals over the 4 months has been magical. The other highlight is how close the kids and once again especially Ayaan have gotten to their grandparents. He is going to miss them incredibly and is already looking forward to them visiting. Big thanks to our parents for hosting us, bearing with us and taking care of the kids. We’ll definitely miss India, and feel so fortunate and thankful to have been able to do this. Memories for life!