This photo shows visa that was granted on September 8, 1986 at New Delhi. It played a huge role in what I am today. It was a bridge that took me from BHU to UC.
It also shows that I arrived in US on September 15th. The visa granted was for a year with multiple entries allowed. Which was useless. My father barely managed to get me a one way ticket. I have to earn to return. As an MS student, I had a stipend that barely covered my share of rent (we three roommates shared one bedroom apartment). I would not return until 5 years later (July 9, 1991) when I had secured my first full time job as an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Franklin College, IN, and had worked for a full year.
This time I had money to buy a ticket and some gifts for extended family too. But one cannot just book a ticket and go. One must ensure that you would be able to secure a visa to enter again. This was always a gamble. Luckily, I was able to get a visa from Mexico City when I was there for a business trip.
Just like on departure, I was greeted with garlands on my first trip back. This photo shows my parents waiting for my train to arrive at Jabalpur train station.
This would be the first time in 5 years that I would see them other than in a photograph. There were no video calling capabilities. They did not even have a phone of any kind. Not even a landline.
I remember my first call was when they had travelled to Calcutta for a wedding. And the hosts had a landline. I spoke, and cried mostly, for 67 minutes. Phone bill for that one call was more than the entire month's rent.
Details of journey before September 15th are here:
http://rahul-upadhyaya.blogspot.com/2020/09/september-15-1986.html?m=1
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