JC in India

Harrogate parkrun is three laps. While it has been a while since I ran it, I used to be a regular and would often volunteer in the role of pacer – where you would don a vest with a time labelled on that you would aim to complete in. I would usually pace 25 minutes and enjoyed the challenge in the goal of running a consistent 8mins 2seconds a mile / 5mins a KM to come across the line at exactly 25mins. That time is quite a milestone for some, and so there would often be a trusting group of followers trying to stay on my shoulder while I would call the occasional words of encouragement. The pressure was on to be as close as possible, and I particularly relished this – having to judge exactly what effort was required to come across the finish line as planned and in good shape.

The first lap was always the shakeout lap, getting into the flow and settling into the pace being careful not to get carried away at the start and going out too hard. Lap two was always to my mind, the cruise; maintaining the momentum, and as the lap progressed having a growing awareness of first the halfway point, then the approach of that final lap. And then onto the last lap, with checks in place to ensure all is going to plan, and a real keen eye on the pace, time, and effort going in to ensure the finish line arrived right as planned. I personally used to pre-measure the time I should reach a particular point about 400 meters from the finish, so if I needed to make small adjustments to my pace I could do so to really nail it. Something I strived for was getting the time bang on, without having to slow down or speed up at the end. The last thing expectant followers need is a sprint finish because the pace was too slow beforehand.

Here in India, I have just started lap three. Year three.

I have been through the first year of getting into the flow, I have cruised through year two, and now I find myself embarking on the third and final lap with the finish line still some ways off, but at a point where I can check my pace and start working towards it with the right momentum.

As I mentioned last time, it is a possibility that this lap won’t be a full one as the crossroads of consideration remains on the horizon, but I do realistically expect at the very least to get some decent way into this year, if not complete the full thing.

I have come back to Delhi this last week and kicked off the new work year with a vigour and do feel like I have had a good week setting in place the activities for the next few months. I have a roadmap to follow and that is what I am focused on. All the while though with an eye on the finish line on the horizon. I have booked my trip to what will be my last Routes Asia conference (for my current employer anyway). I have completed my last business planning session for an upcoming year. I am coping with my last cold January in Delhi, trying to find the balance of blasting the apartment with oil and fan heaters constantly, and wearing extra layers to not have too exorbitant an electricity bill. It really is cold right now. The pollution is at severe levels, and the temperature overnight in the usual damp cold mist gets down to around 5 degrees C. You can even see the pollution haze in the air against the lights when it gets dark.

Having an apartment with no heating and designed to keep the heat out makes for some cold living – something I am more averse too, being much more of a warm temperature kind of guy.

Even the cows are seemingly more restless and wandering around trying to keep warm…

I have also waved off two of the remaining expats over the last few weeks, with Thibaut now having left India to return to France (although admittedly he is currently on a sailboat in Antarctica, but that’s a whole different story!). Not before we could send him off with dinner and a few drinks at Miss Pintos mind….

And Patrick jetted off yesterday to take on a role elsewhere, leaving India behind him. Then in another four weeks, it will be Gordon’s turn as he sets off for a new role in Saudi Arabia. Once he has gone it will just be myself and two other guys from France left flying the expat flag with our company, and I will assume the mantle of longest serving current expat. Something that feels quite unusual, as it does not feel that long ago when I was the new kid on the block so to speak.

The support of the expat community for people in my position is incredibly valuable. It is not about staying in cliques and avoiding the locals at all. It is more about the need to lean on each other for support as we navigate a completely different culture, each understanding the unique impact this has on us as foreigners. As plans have been made for the departures of those leaving, we have been engaged a lot together on how to make it all work smoothly. It turns out departing India is not as simple as just getting on a plane and jetting into the sunset. There is a plethora of admin required (unsurprising for India), largely biased around visas, taxes, and banking.

To leave the country you need to be up to date with tax, and the government will only grant you a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to leaving the country if they are satisfied this is the case. Our visas are employment visas and are linked to our employment. Once our employment ceases the visa becomes invalid on the same day. To be in India, or indeed exit India, you need a valid visa. Hence the need for the NOC to depart the country which replaces the obligation to have a valid visa up till the time of departure. If you can leave in advance of the visa expiring, i.e. in advance of employment finishing, then technically you can do so without an NOC. And that is why one practice is to take unpaid leave for the last few days, so you can technically remain an employee with therefore a valid visa still in existence.

This transposes to banking also. For our accounts to be active, as we are foreign residents, we have to have a valid visa. Our bank accounts are set up as such as we are not Indian nationals therefore our accounts are pegged as being ‘foreign user’ and my account is even labelled so on my statements. For the account to be usable the bank must have a valid visa on file, and if they do not then the account gets locked. This happened to me a few weeks back, when my visa expiry date passed, and I had not shared with them a copy of my new renewed visa. Standing at the cashpoint seeing a positive balance on the screen while an ‘insufficient funds’ rejection happened was confusing to say the least. But on enquiry the bank just had not uploaded my new visa to the system hence the account had become locked. It was quickly resolved but did clearly demonstrate the fact that the moment the visa stops, so does access to the bank account.

Which in turn presents the next challenge, as in reality when you leave the country it is highly likely a salary payment will still be pending, or even if not, there will be some funds needing access or bills need paying which cannot be coordinated to the exact day of departure.

Thankfully accounts can then be switched to a ‘non-resident’ account, but this has far more restrictions and so far, we have yet to experience how smoothly this works although witness seems to show it does have some challenges in accessing and managing from overseas. Given India’s rigorous approach to fraud, pretty much every time the account is used a one-time passcode (OTP) has to be sent to your mobile (Indian number required). Therefore, there is also the need to retain an Indian mobile number until such time as all transactions are over and done with. But you need an Indian domicile to be able to pay for an Indian mobile… And so, it goes around and around in circles. The guys who have gone so far have pre-paid for a year their mobile numbers to ensure this covers their needs.

For me personally I will need to keep my Indian bank account, and hand in hand with that my Indian mobile number, for three years after I leave as there is a national insurance equivalent fund I can claim back but only when I reach 57 years old due to the welfare arrangement between India and the UK. I already dread the bureaucracy I will need to face when I come to try and get those funds. I totally expect I will physically come back to India for a week shortly after my birthday in late 2027 to deal with that! My current assistant does not know it yet, but she may be placed on a personal retainer to keep my Indian affairs in order for the next three years and help me with anything needed!

Navigating our way through this has seen us as expats really rely on each other for support. Which has made me truly appreciate the spirit of community that exists amongst strangers in strange lands. We have leaned on each other and joined together in positive ways. I have experienced a genuine sense that we would all help each other out as much as possible in real affinity to each other’s shared needs. I know of stories of helping with rental payments because someone’s account wasn’t working, assisting with short term loans to bridge frozen accounts and the like. We always said between us that in time of medical emergency we would likely call on each other first to help, as we could relate to the challenges we could uniquely experience.

In parallel though we have also built a solid base of close connections with our local colleagues, and there are some in our circles that have been incredibly helpful to us and without whom our lives would have been even more difficult.

The expat camaraderie though has been really helpful, and as the numbers dwindle and when Gordon goes there will be just three of us remaining, with myself, Fabien and Alexis (both French) remaining. Alexis has his family here in India with him, and so the level of ‘hanging out’ with expats socially will reduce significantly.

I personally can be quite private and reclusive in truth. Gordon is a social butterfly and to be fair to him has bantered his way into making more non-company linked friends primarily via his somewhat more proactive Australian High Commission events. In fact, last night he was trying to get me to go with him to an evening event there, but I preferred to just get some time to myself following the last week of being back at work following Christmas. Turns out he made a few friends there and is now going out again this evening with them. Fair play! I am happy enough doing my own thing though, and do enjoy the peace of my own apartment here in Delhi at the weekends. I am quite content to just enjoy the place and catch up on myself. Although I have got through a good few jobs today that I needed to do including getting rid of some wooden crates that were left over from a picture delivery pre-Christmas.

Well, when I say that I got rid of them I basically messaged Vikas (my day guard) and bunged him 500 Rupees to sort it out which he relished and was more than happy with. Here in India, it is very easy to get things done quickly if willing to pay. “Sir, this is India. Anything is possible”.

Tomorrow will likely see a saunter down to the shopping area for a Tim Hortons, but other than that it will be another quiet day. It has also recently transpired that Monday is a public holiday. We received an email at work on Thursday advising that Monday would now be a non-working day (for the Makar Sankranti festival). This is the annual festival to celebrate the transition of the sun from the zodiac of Sagittarius to Capricorn. Each year this occurs on the 14^th of January. Except on a leap year when it is the 15^th… Not sure what happened but turns out this was realised last week, and hence the last minute advice of an extra day off. I am not complaining for sure about an extra day off, although the late notice has meant a lot of people scrambling to re-arrange work diaries that had been set for Monday. I should point out that in return, one non-working day in August has been cancelled in lieu. But that’s India for you, all rather last minute!

So, the third lap is underway. It is going to be a very different lap and one that I will have to keep a steady pace on as the environment around me changes. Being the final lap, it will also soon evolve into a kind of transition as I will start to work on succession planning. And as the finish line gets closer potentially look to find and handover to someone else to carry my work baton forward.

But for now, it is onwards. The final year in India beckons.