Mumbai: Author & Entrepreneur Soundarya Balasubramani’s India tour, Life in the USA: From People Who Cracked the Code, brought together students, professionals, and young founders across Mumbai (Dec 13) and Hyderabad (Dec 14). The free, multi-city series which also includes the upcoming venues Chennai (Dec 21), and Bangalore (Jan 4) creates an open space for honest conversations about ambition, migration, and the realities of building a life in America. The sessions were organized by Roam and supported by Collegepond, i20fever, HSBC, and more. Across the four sessions, hundreds of attendees received free copies of Admitted—Soundarya’s bestselling guide for international students.
The conversations moved far beyond visa categories or application timelines. Soundarya and her co-speakers spoke about the emotional and professional realities of starting over in a new country: uncertainty, reinvention, loneliness, and the resilience required to find belonging thousands of miles from home. Many attendees shared that Soundarya’s talk shifted something within them — especially her message about not settling for “just a job,” but seeking a calling, designing one’s career with intention, and daring to aim higher. Drawing from her own immigration journey and her work supporting thousands of high-skilled immigrants, her stories revealed the trade-offs immigrants face and the long-term thinking required to thrive abroad.
“My favorite part of the tour was what happened after the talk,” Soundarya shared. “Again and again, students told me that the idea of not settling for a job — but seeking a calling — stayed with them. I see so many brilliant people doing work that no longer excites them, and their potential stalls. To watch twenty-one and twenty-two-year-olds suddenly imagine a bigger future for themselves… that was the most fulfilling part for me.”
The sessions also spotlighted Soundarya’s evolution as a storyteller. She is currently writing her first novel, 1000 Days of Love—a deeply intimate, emotionally truthful story inspired by three transformative years of her life. The novel follows the bond between a 25-year-old woman searching for meaning and a 52-year-old man with limited time but an extraordinary ability to offer wisdom, presence, and unconditional care.
At the emotional core of the book is the influence of Rajesh Setty, whose mentorship reshaped Soundarya’s trajectory. 1000 Days of Love is not a romance in the traditional sense; it is a meditation on connection, grief, ambition, and the rare relationships that change us from the inside out.
As conversations unfolded across the tour, questions shifted from “Is this possible?” to “How do I do this with clarity and intention?” Attendees stayed back long after the formal sessions ended—sharing their stories, asking deeper questions, and forming new connections. The atmosphere echoed the central theme of 1000 Days of Love: that meaningful change rarely happens all at once. It happens slowly, through honest conversations, encouragement, and people who show up with patience and care.
