Key Takeaways

• The universal NRI experience: Almost everyone abroad has thought about returning to India at least once
• Canada's "free healthcare" has a dark side - cancer patients waiting months for chemotherapy, specialist wait times, and expensive medications not covered
• The glass ceiling for foreign qualifications: Doctors, engineers, and lawyers from India working in Amazon outsourcing because their degrees aren't recognized
• Indian food cured pre-diabetes when Canadian healthcare couldn't - "Your genetics want Indian food, not broccoli for days"
• Housing crisis and inflation are driving even native Canadians to leave the country
• Create an Exit Plan document the day you decide to move - bullet points of everything to check off

The Beginning: From Kolkata to Calgary

Abhishek's journey began in Kolkata, West Bengal, where he completed his entire education up to his Master's degree without ever leaving the city. The decision to pursue higher studies abroad came during a time when there was a huge craze for migrating to the US and Canada.

"I come from a field which was also developing then in US and Canada - molecular biology, cancer biology. That was my starting point. I applied to different universities - US and Canada. As my friends say, keep applying, more the merrier."

Eventually, he landed in Calgary, in the western part of Canada, drawn by the university, the city, the lab environment, and the growing opportunities in the oil boom region.

The 16-Year Journey: Many Shades of Life

Abhishek's 16 years in Canada have seen "many shades" - from typical student struggles to professional growth to starting his own business:

The Reality of Student Life in Canada

The initial phase was marked by challenges that every international student faces:

"You try to find a community from your own region. I shared an apartment with my friends - all of them came from different parts of India. It was a pretty cosmopolitan living - we had people from South India, North India."

The Dark Side of Canada's "Free Healthcare"

Perhaps the most eye-opening part of Abhishek's experience is his detailed breakdown of Canada's healthcare system - a reality that contradicts the popular narrative:

"When we say free healthcare, what people don't realize when they come here first time as a student - it covers a big spectrum of your health, no doubt. But not much of dental health - dental is very expensive here. Also not much of your medications - most of the time your doctor visits are all free, but medication is only partially covered."

The Specialist Wait Time Crisis

Abhishek describes a healthcare system in crisis:

"In India, if I have a headache, I can run down to or go across the street and meet my uncle who is a doctor. But here, if you have something, first you have to go to the emergency, wait for an hour or two hours, then a general physician will see you, give you medication, and allot you to a regular doctor."

The process for serious conditions is even more alarming:

• Step 1: Go to emergency, wait 1-2 hours
• Step 2: General physician gives medication and certificate
• Step 3: Get assigned to a family doctor (takes time after arriving in Canada)
• Step 4: Family doctor refers you to a specialist (subject to appointment)
• Step 5: Wait for specialist who is seeing many patients

Cancer Patients Waiting Months for Chemotherapy

"I have seen a lot of people - even now starting from COVID - they're cancer patients but they are waiting to get their chemotherapy. Imagine for a cancer patient, if you are expecting chemotherapy in August, sometimes the doctors will try to internally channelize it, but if they cannot - even the doctor knows you need chemo radiation in August, but you are lined up, you will get it in October. Now think of the cancer itself that is manifesting inside the patient. The person who is turning up in October is a completely different or a more devastated patient. That is a HUGE problem in the healthcare."

The word "free healthcare" is kind of an oxymoron - as long as you are fit and fine, the free healthcare is extremely suitable. The moment you go to the other side of the spectrum, things radically change.

The Glass Ceiling: Foreign Qualifications Not Recognized

One of the most painful realities Abhishek shares is about the glass ceiling for immigrants with foreign qualifications:

"I have friends who are lawyers from India, engineers from India, MBBS MD from India - they have done their MD from top-notch places like JIPMER Pondicherry. Now when they're coming to Canada, they are stuck. You have to get a licensing exam or an equivalent Canadian experience exam, otherwise you are simply not recognized."

"That leads to a lot of people going to the outsourcing industry, and that gives me a lot of pain. I have seen qualified doctors, engineers, lawyers - very very educated people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh - all these people they're working in outsourcing of Amazon, outsourcing of some big telecom companies, because that is their subsistence, that is giving them a regular paycheck. They cannot get into their own industry."

The PR Points Trap

The irony is that these same qualifications help you get PR:

"When people become a permanent resident, all they are actually bartering with Immigration Canada is their qualification. If you're a bachelor, you get points. If you're a Masters, you get more points. If you're a PhD, you get a bigger set of points. The problem happens when you are done with immigration - forget about immigration now - you're coming to the job market, and now you're saying 'I am a PhD from India' and you're stuck."

Advice for young aspirants: Plan ahead. After you get your degree, what are you going to do? Be mindful of this rather than simply having a linear mindset, because that might fail if people are not aware.

How Indian Food Cured Pre-Diabetes When Canadian Medicine Couldn't

One of the most remarkable parts of Abhishek's story is his health transformation:

"I was going through a depressive phase despite starting the business. A lot of health hazards were coming in. I fell ill. I also developed pre-diabetes in that phase. I was trying to get everything from Canadian healthcare - I was getting good amount of care, but I felt at some point that I am becoming a puppet, I am becoming a subject to experimentation and guesswork."

The turning point came from an unexpected source - an Indian dietician:

"She mentioned something that changed everything: 'You are Indian. You are more attuned to a desi vegetable or a sabzi than a pound of broccoli. You can still have it, but we are not tuned to having avocado or broccoli for days after days after days because our genetics want some of the Indian stuff. Give something Indian to your body.'"

The Results Were Remarkable

"It was actually an expansion of consciousness. There is some magic out there which I couldn't find in a so-called more materially patterned country which is more developed technically. My whole understanding of what is developed and what is not developed went completely in a different direction than what it was 16 years ago."

Canada's Housing Crisis: Even Native Canadians Are Leaving

The financial reality of Canada has changed dramatically:

"The main thing I saw in these years in Canada is inflation. There was a point when I was thinking of buying a house - a very logical kind of thinking. But as we progressed, we realized that in the past few years, the housing cost skyrocketed. That's a very big thing in Canada right now - that's one of the major drivers of reverse migration."

"I have many friends who are like 'I cannot really maintain the asset that my grandfather has left.' They're selling off their huge property, making up the money, and moving to a different country where they can probably have less fixed assets and have a more free-floating life. That trend is coming in big time."

The Business Venture: Science Meets Spirituality

Abhishek's interest evolved into a unique business combining his scientific background with Indian spiritual traditions:

"One of the interests I developed over the years is the interface of science and spirituality. What I realized is that people here are doing yoga - it has become a fashion statement now, which is wonderful - but the problem I was seeing is that people are doing yoga without understanding the core value of what is yogic theory, which is very much integrated into the land of India, whether you call it Patanjali Yoga Sutra."

The vision expanded:

"We both have a science background, and we thought - why not propel this? This is an Indian thought, but we can also speak the other language of science and health benefit. Let's do something for mankind, for the community. The troubles here are no less - although we see it from a perspective of developed countries, there are a good amount of population for whom affordability is an issue, healthcare is an issue."

But a secondary thought kept emerging:

"If I'm doing it in this country, I can do it in a bigger scale in my country because the troubles are greater. Even if I do good or teach one asana to one particular individual - that thought always kept coming in because I'm already seeing my friends and families and extended members struggling. I could have helped them."

The Decision: Fall Ahead, Not Fall Back

Abhishek's approach to the return decision is refreshingly different:

"Rather than we always think of taking an action and falling back - it's like an elastic phenomenon - rather than thinking in that manner, if you belong to a country, if you're a citizen of a country which gives you a stronger passport, it's better to think in a more divergent way: I'll go to India, if things don't work, I'll go somewhere. I have rather kept the focus of my WORK as the top priority rather than the country."

"My mindset is not like 'I'll come back to Canada and do it.' Of course Canada is added to my baggage, I will have my friends and network here, we can do collaborative things. But my ideology - depending on the economic market of Canada now - I cannot say that in 10-15 years I can come back because I land up in a similar kind of soup based on the inflation."

The Emotional Side: Missing Life's Important Moments

Beyond the practical considerations, there's a deeply emotional aspect:

"In this 15-16 years journey, I have realized that definitely I have missed the happy social part of India. We all do as NRIs. But I have attended more phone calls of people dying, passing away in India - relatives, older people - than the happy occasions."

A particularly painful memory:

"I lost my father in Canada back in 2010. I always felt these are the occasions I couldn't have been able to tackle in a good manner. I was not able to handle them in person with the fullest capacity. If I could have been in Kolkata or in India, things would have been different. This thought always perpetuated - that I could have helped people in difficult times."

Why Kolkata? Returning to Roots

For Abhishek, the destination was never in question:

"From my initial mindset from many years ago, when I was not even considering the word 'returning back,' I always thought of coming back to my own hometown which is Kolkata. The practical reason is - in Kolkata I have my roots, I have my friend circle, I have my social circle, more on that I have my fixed assets. I have to take care of them."

His vision for the future:

"I cannot simply put the responsibility on someone and say 'you manage, and I'm a Canadian return person, I will be sitting on a throne.' I cannot really do that. I have to be responsible. The kind of work and mindset I'm having now - a lot of it focuses on the geography which is pretty much in and around Kolkata or Bengal. But definitely I do have plans to travel across India, North and South."

The Exit Plan: Practical Advice for Returning NRIs

Abhishek shares his systematic approach:

"The day I started deciding of the move, I created a doc on my computer. I named it 'Exit Plan' where I actually put bullet points - these are the things I have to check off when I'm moving out of Canada."

Advice for Young Aspirants Coming to Canada

Abhishek's message to those considering Canada:

"Definitely come to Canada because the Western exposure is fantastic. You have wonderful academic institutions here, phenomenal scientists, the liberal arts is very good, the engineering is very good, the STEM faculty - do come here. But I would also ask them to be mindful of the limitations and what is covered and what is not covered."

"The first dream that gets fulfilled is 'I'm in Canada' and people are in the honeymoon phase for first few years. Then they start realizing - the reality starts biting."

The Final Message: Bring Your Learning Back

"Whatever you have learned in a foreign country - from whichever country you are migrating, not just Canada - try to bring that exposure to India. I think India will also boom from that aspect. There is a saying where Swami Vivekananda has said that the real rise of the nation will happen if there is a merging of the East and the West."

And on the emotional side:

"It's a very happy decision. No one should try to predict future by 100% - there is no time machine so far. Trust your instinct, be happy about it, and never see this moving thing as a hindrance. At this moment, I myself am feeling very happy that I'm going back to the country that I've left 15 years back. There is a feeling that I could have taken this decision before, but overall there is an intensity of happiness and positivity. I would tell everyone to be in this zone because that's the best thing that will make the process very easy and less tiresome."

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Articles