Have you woken up with a bad dream that one of your family members back in India is not well? This is especially true when you have aging parents and you dread the thought that somebody gets ill and you are not close-by. This is where physical distance does matter. Have seen many friend's shuttling back and forth to visit the close ones who are not well or going thru' the well-sick-well cycle and it gets tough if you feel like staying close with these events.
Even though world is flat now, distance to India has remained pretty much the same or has grown a bit more ! Surprised? With airline prices going up every year, it has made a major dent on family travels. A family of four paying for an economy class has to shell out at least 7000-8000 US $ for each trip (assuming school going kids who can take a break only during peak season). Indian families do treat this as a major expense. If there is a family ceremony or emergency that you need to be there, it is not easy to attend unless you have to. Forget about making a trip every month or two to visit families.
Of course, with all of the tech connections, communication has increased but physical distance has remained the same. This may not be a big deal for many families since interaction is limited to close family circle but if you have a large connected family, how do you expose the kids to this family circle and get to know that circle better? If that doesn't happen, it is pretty certain that they will never get to know the family circle in their life.
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