The Return of an Immigrant

If you are one of those who wonder why scores of NRIs give up their six-figure salaries and return to their homeland, then Shoba Narayan's latest book Return to India: A Memoir might interest you. "This book is written by an immigrant for an immigrant," stated the Begaluru-based author at the book launch at The Park hotel last week.

Written over a period of ten years, the book is an account of Narayan's return to India, after staying in the US for 20 years. That's when she realised that she missed India. "When I recollected my childhood memories — the smell of jasmine at night and the sightings of a goat placed in between two men riding on a bike — my longing to return grew stronger," says Narayan. She finally moved back to India a decade ago. "I wanted my kids to know about the Sardarji jokes, what cricket means to India and how the Indian monsoon feels. I could not bear the thought of my children becoming foreigners to the land that nurtured me," adds the author whose book Monsoon Diary: A Memoir with Recipes released in 2003.

While the audience at the launch flipped through the pages of the book, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh was the chief guest. Answering a question on why should NRIs return to India, he stated, "If you read the book, you will get to know that you are not doing the country any favour, you are doing yourself a favour." While that won applause, Narayan announced that a sequel to the book is in-the-making.

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