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Having lived in Hyderabad for quite some time, how does it feel to be moving away?
It’s our profession; we do it quite often and it doesn’t get easier. It’s difficult to leave friends, but we make sure to stay in touch and come back. My wife and I have good friends here. We will miss them.
You are more famous than some of our city’s bureaucrats and politicians! What do you think of that?
I think it shows the affection and respect the people of Hyderabad have for the U.S. It’s less about me and more about America, and the pro-American attitude. I’m lucky to be here at this point of time. I’m the point man. It’s about the AP-US relationship.
How did you like Hyderabad?
Hyderabad is like Los Angeles, with people from all over India settled here. People are very generous; in fact, India by-and-large is a very friendly country. It’s laudable that two significant communites - Hindu and Islamic - get along very well here. It serves as a lesson to other places not just in India, but in other countries as well.
Did you get to see a lot of India? What changes have you noticed since you last visited the
sub-continent?
Thirty-two years ago I was in Delhi. I had travelled to Kashmir, Rajasthan, Agra and the North, mostly. In the last two years I’ve limited my travel exclusively to AP and visited districts. We also came here 20 years ago, but there weren’t many changes. In the last 15 years, a lot more has changed, with the economy getting liberal. We now see India producing professionals of international calibre. It’s quite evident in Hyderabad with medical schools and technical universities.
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