ONGC was where I started after leaving IIMA. It was a very good experience with extensive orientation program and fantastic treatment. I stayed with ONGC, Delhi office, for 5 years. 

 

I got married to Rakesh in 1977. Our son, Anubhav, was born in 1978. Neither nannies nor childcare were satisfactory solutions. In 1980, when my promotion was due for the position of Deputy Director Finance, I decided to quit ONGC, as I felt that it is more important to take care of my child than pursue my career. 

 

I joined IPCL, Delhi Office, in 1982, when Anubhav was 4 years old and going to Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. But within six months of my joining IPCL, Rakesh decided to move to Lagos, Nigeria. 

 

I resigned from IPCL and we went to Lagos in 1983. Our daughter, Pooja, was born there. I stayed in Lagos until 1995 while Rakesh continued his work at Lagos until 2004. While in Lagos, I worked at Indian Language School as office administrator, and later joined Australian High Commission for some time. 

 

We had sent Anubhav to Doon school in 1989 at the age of 11 for better education, which was emotionally a very hard decision. At the age of 14, Anubhav joined a private school, The Kiski School, in Pittsburgh, USA in grade IX. He finished his grade XII in 1995 as a valedictorian. 

 

In the meantime, our daughter had joined Welham Girls’ School in Dehradun in 1994, at the age of 11. We missed both our children a lot and decided to move to New Zealand in 1995 where all of us could live together. 

 

After an 11-year break, I refreshed my IT skills by doing a 1-year course in computer applications and programming and returned to the work force in 1996. I joined Sage New Zealand (head office in UK), as a Senior Software Consultant. 

 

I was transferred to Sage Australia in Melbourne in 2000 in the same position. I moved to Melbourne with Rakesh and Pooja, while Anubhav continued to stay in Auckland to complete the final year of his medical college. 

 

Rakesh, however, went back to his old company in Lagos, Nigeria and stayed there until 2004, while I continued to work with Sage Australia until 2007. 

 

I started my business in Immigration Consulting in Melbourne in 2008, which took off nicely and smoothly, and Rakesh joined the business in 2009. We are still actively running this business from Sydney, though we have decided to work from home very soon. This is in order to slowly prepare for our retirement. 

 

We moved to Sydney in December 2015 to be closer to our children and grandchildren. Anubhav is a pancreatic surgeon at Royal Northshore Hospital, also running his private practice from various private and public hospitals. Our daughter-in-law, Dipti, is a palliative care consultant at Concord Hospital, Sydney. They have two lovely daughters, Isha and Kiran. 

 

Our daughter, Pooja, is a poet and writer and publishes her books on a regular basis. Our son-in-law, Thathagata, is project manager at an IT firm in Sydney. They have an 11-month old son, Siddhartha, (Sid). Both our children live a half-an- hour drive from our home. 

 

By God’s grace, we are now all in the same city after a long time. Rakesh and I want to slowly close down our business and retire by end of 2017, so that we can enjoy quality time with our children and grandchildren, which is the most enjoyable experience of life at this time.