Modi wants to accelerate change, but it's a monumental task
Timing is everything. Since I was a boy, my father has described Republic Day to me. So, to see it for myself and for the American president to be there - well, that was quite something.
Good timing I'd say. Good timing too, for the US-India relationship. If you'd have said a year ago, that Modi-Obama would have two state visits within four months, people would have laughed at you. But the relationship is flourishing. Strategically, it makes sense; economically, it makes sense.
These two leaders are masters of the media, so it didn't surprise me that the images from the parade were perfect for the message they were trying to convey. They sat shoulder to shoulder, at ease with each other, the president looking like he was genuinely enjoying himself. Hardly Nixon in '69, when that American president couldn't even bring himself to stay in India for a whole day. Throw in the images of bear hugs, tea, pinstripes and Obama learning "namaste" - and it exceeded expectations.
Bringing the BBC World News programme Global to India for the Obama visit was important. As we try to tell the Indian story around the world charting the progress this relationship makes, in all the key areas like trade, nuclear, climate change and global security will be our challenge. That - and reflecting modern India: how people live, work, how they're using technology; the generation "dividend" with half the population under 25.
In our coverage we interviewed small businesses, as well as the big beasts like Anand Mahindra. We took the Delhi Metro, followed by a journey on India's creaking railways. Modi talks about a 21st century economy - you can't build that on mid-20th century infrastructure.
And then, there's the huge amount of social change to reflect. I spent an evening with a group of youngsters discussing everything from rape and attitudes towards women to chaiwallas, on an app. One man I'd interviewed said to me, "I'm 42 and consider myself quite young - but I feel like those 20-somethings are two generations away from me, not one. They think differently, they live differently, and they're changing every aspect of Indian life." And that's exactly what I thought, as I sat and listened to that group of young people.
It is important to me that we reflect all of that change. I come to India a lot - all my extended family live in Mumbai. I'm a Parsi and I was there for a Navjote, only three weeks ago.
And, every time I come you can see that things are different. You arrive at Mumbai's new international airport and then take the equally new Sea Link road into the city. The skyline is peppered with cranes, throwing up swanky tower blocks and hotels. The flashy cars - BMW, Mercedes, Porsche are here - in a city where, if you're going above 30mph, you're probably in a police car chase.
The big Western chains are more visible too - KFC if you fancy it - Starbucks too. I've done it. But for me it sort of messes with the mind. The usual double macchiato, soya latte, in Mumbai, somehow seems wrong.
I'm a father of five and people tell me it's madness to travel around India with a big family of young children. But the madness is what they love.
My wife teases me that I could easily be a health and safety official when I'm at home. I see danger everywhere and note it down on my clipboard. But in India - it leaves me. Where else can you cram seven people into a tiny black and yellow Fiat taxi and charge around town?
And no journey is done without the kids playing the Amitabh Bachchan game. The God of Indian cinema is on every billboard - and it's a point for each sighting and they never tire of it. I interviewed him on Global last week - it took all my professionalism not to shout out his name halfway through. It would have been embarrassing, but I'd have got a few points on the board!
I love India and I'm glad my kids do. My wife got talking to an American man in a shop, who seemed both bemused and intrigued that there were so many little Amroliwalas getting in his way. He was originally from India but he had emigrated 25 years ago. He said he hadn't brought his children when they were young - and now in their 20's, they don't much care for it. It's too much of a culture shock, he said. So sadly, he comes alone.
He, like me, has seen India change hugely since we were young. Narendra Modi wants to accelerate that change - make the country properly punch its weight. He has big plans for building the economy, attracting foreign investment. But it's a monumental task. There are good reasons why India languishes at the bottom of the World Bank's list of countries where it's easy to do business. Bureaucracy is rampant, delay the norm.
And, here's the thing about that new Sea Link road from the airport into Mumbai. If you don't pay the toll and you go the long way round, it takes you triple the time and there's no hiding the shanties and the extreme poverty.
That remains India's biggest challenge - how to make progress attainable for everyone.
The contrasts in this country have always been massive. A modern India has to close that gap, not let it continue or perhaps even widen.
Narendra Modi's personal story from tea seller to prime minister is much loved and much told. Replicating social mobility for millions of others is the real task.
This past week has been an amazing time to be in India. It has been busy, but at least I didn't have to give my father the slip while I was here. As a child, my mother would sneak us off for pani puri from the street vendors on Chowpatty beach. It always had to be top secret. My father, a rather cautious doctor, would go nuts at the prospect - must be where I must get that "health and safety" gene. But I've never lost the taste for pani puri - I had one, and one for my mother as well.
Finally, one man I interviewed this week used a phrase I instantly liked. “Matthew” he said, “India is like a mosaic”. Well our job on Global, is to reflect more of that mosaic. This Obama visit has been a snapshot of India – the bigger picture is what we have to report. Can Modi and Obama turn the symbolism of this trip into real substance? That’s what we’ll watch for over the next few months.
As I drove to the airport, I saw a sign - “Indian At Heart – Global In Perspective”.
It couldn’t be a better description of me and my job. Glad I saw it.
Good timing I’d say.