A few days ago, I completed 10 years of living in India. I happened to be flying from Mumbai to Delhi on the same day of the Anniversary and felt overwhelmed with emotion while I walked through the Delhi airport to catch a taxi to Gurgaon so that I could celebrate Diwali with my wife and in-laws.
This walk brought up memories of when I landed in Delhi on the morning of October 25, 2009 ready to begin the next chapter of my life in this country. While re-living this moment, my emotions grew so strong that, on the taxi ride to my in-laws, I decided to use social media as an outlet to share my memory as well as gratitude for those who have contributed to my past past decade in this extraordinary country.
Honestly, though, what was even more overwhelming than the fact that I have completed 10 years living in India, was the response to my social media post. I just couldn’t believe that people from all over the world took time out of their busy schedules to share some memory, words of encouragement or gratitude with me.
I’m pasting the text of the post below along with a screen shot which shows the kind of response the post garnered:
Today marks my 10 year anniversary of living in India. I remember landing into Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on October 25, 2009 with 2 bags of all my belongings and a head full of ambitious dreams of how I was going to ‘transform Indian football.’ My bags didn’t arrive nor did the driver my new company set up and I spend the next hour in the airport using very broken Hindi to borrow random people’s phones so that I could try to figure out my next step. I lost my cool a few times and wouldn’t be lying when I say that the thought of just walking over to Departures and buying a ticket back to the US didn’t cross my mind.
It was during that chaos that I thought to myself, ‘how am I going to make any difference in this country if I can’t even get out of the airport without freaking out?’ This scene perfectly encapsulates the last decade of living in this extraordinary country – an endless succession of lofty dreams, jarring reality, deep introspection and expansive personal & professional growth.
Since then, I have had the opportunity to travel to all corners and interiors of this amazing place, help some of the biggest clubs in the world establish their presence here, run a professional football club and establish the country’s first industry designed sports management institute. I may not have ‘transformed Indian football’ (whatever that means anyway) however I’ve had a profound experience working within all aspects of the sporting ecosystem with some of the best companies and professionals in the country.
I’m grateful to everyone who has been a part of my journey – too many people to tag on this post – as without you all India would not feel like the home that it has become.
And as I reflect back to the morning of October 25, 2009, I’m really happy that I chose to brave the frantic auto ride to my Chittaranjan Park company guesthouse instead of taking the easy road and hop on the next flight back to my comfort zone. That decision has definitely paid off in dividends.
Looking forward to continuing to try and ‘figure myself out’ while I navigate through this wonderful country. Jai Hind!
All I can say is that I’m so happy that 10 years ago I chose the path of heart versus head. The path of purpose versus practicality. The path of the unknown versus known. It was the best choice that I’ve ever made…
