A meeting of minds

Before Bangalore, Shyam and Priya Sunder were in Chicago and London, Shyam working with Accenture and Priya studying journalism and then finding herself writing legal petitions for Wall Street investment bankers. When they returned, Shyam took charge of the financial services practice at Mphasis. Now, the couple has started their own financial services company, PeakAlpha Investment Services, specializing in financial and tax planning.

We had decided very early on in our marriage that when our child was five years old we would return to India. We did just that. Our daughter turned five in 2003. Six months before we moved, Shyam started looking out for opportunities in India. After several fruitful discussions with some of the major companies in India, Shyam decided to take up the Mphasis offer. "We had a preference for either Bangalore (because of the weather) or Chennai, as we would be close to Shyam's parents.  Since Mphasis has a large set-up in Bangalore, we chose Bangalore," says Priya.

Re-entry wasn’t easy. “My daughter missed her school (St James’ in London) and her friends. She found it hard to make friends when she was the only new child, and with a strange British accent at that. Both my kids fell ill frequently because of various strains of viral fever. (But) I would say they really like Bangalore now, especially since my sister-in-law has also relocated from Singapore recently, and my kids are enjoying the company of their cousins."

The Sunders never experienced racism. "But having lived (abroad) for seven years, we yearned to be back in India, to be with our families and to blend in rather than be different."

Bangalore is likely to be their permanent residence. "We are in the process of growing roots here. We have bought a house already.”