Taking its point of departure in the personal story of Nalini, this
article examines highly skilled Indian women’s experiences
of moving back to India after years of working and living
with their families abroad. The article touches on themes of
gender relations, family commitments, career opportunities,
and social and cultural conservatism within the context of
recent waves of return migration to Bangalore, a prominent
hub in the imaginary of a “new” globalising India. Tracing
Nalini’s story in and out of states of depression, the article
points to ways in which returnee women find their own, at
times, unexpected ways of dealing with the upheavals of
return migration.