Pseudo nostalgic intellectually regurgitated rant of an NRI (Not Required Indian) just to gloss over the guilt of leaving loved ones behind for the dollar signs.

Do this or do that. Once you make the choice, you live with it. No regrets, no melancholic balderdash.

Bah, Scripto. Life isn't that easy. Who has ever been happy with their choices? We all want it all. Deal with it.

Agree with Aran. Also, it's okay really to look out for yourself and then regret what you missed out on in the process. The alternative is either extreme selfishness or extreme selflessness. In this case, neither is better. If no Indian had left India due to extreme selflessness, India wouldn't be where it is today. And if no Indian who left India felt nostalgic about his country after that due to extreme selfishness, none would have given anything back from his success, and India wouldn't be where it is today.

The idea that you make a choice and have no feelings attached to it seems very black and white. Isn't it enriching in a way to have a more complexity surrounding some of these decisions? Does longing for something left behind necessarily mean regret? Isnt that very deterministic?
I thrive from the fact that I long for the home that I left behind and still try to feel at home in this new country and am able to appreciate so many things about both experiences.