From Musaddi To Mahatma - Travails of Passport -Part two

Officials at the passport office accepted my suggestion, and finally allowed me to pay a penalty and gave me the closure letter of that application.  When I got this closure letter, it had been 11 months to my stay in the new city, so I decided to let one more month pass before applying afresh so that I have to only provide the proofs of my present address.  

Now I had entered the last quarter of the extension that my employer would grant me to continue without submitting this document. I was not in a position to afford any other slip, so I checked every letter of my application twice, before submitting. After the online submission, the next step of challenge was to get the online appointment, I had heard that getting this appointment is almost as tough as getting a tatkaal ticket from IRCTC website.

The slot to book the appointment opens at 6 in the evening, so I had taken my place from 5:30 in front of my laptop in order to take the appointment. I had even switched off my cell phone in order to avoid any call at the crunch time. As a practice I also entered the CAPTCHA a few times just to get my fingers moving swiftly. Every time I entered a letter wrong in the CAPTCHA a few drops of sweat would trickled down the forehead, and I would tell myself to focus more.

At 6 suddenly the site slowed down, I realized that the battle had begun, scores of people chasing a few coveted slots. It was a time for the hefty payments behind high speed internet to finally pay off, some sort of return.  It was like beginning of a 100 meter sprint, any slip in the first step would close all chances of making it over the line first.  And I slipped on the first step; vital most icon at the right bottom of my screen told me sadly that the connection was “Local only”.  I quickly went away from my laptop for its safety.  Not only did I walk out of the room, I walked out of my apartment and went for a long walk.

On coming back, I checked for the time when the next slot for appointment was to open, the website told me it was to open on Monday.  I was still feeling agitated, and called a friend of mine to vent out the agony. He told me not to worry about it till Monday and try afresh on Monday.

Next Monday, I went to a cyber café, hoping that a change in venue will bring a change in luck. It did, I could manage an appointment.

On the day of the appointment I went to the Seva Kendra and submitted my application. By the time I came back from there to my home, I had got an SMS from the local police station for the verification. I called at the same number and asked if I could come right away, the police official agreed and off I went there for the verification. The official nudged me to give him something, and swiftly I took out a paper containing photograph of the man most revered. Quietly handed over to him from below the table. All of it happened in a span of 3 minutes, I stood in disbelief. I asked him if there was anything else to be done for the verification, he replied saying it was done.

Was he saying that the process that had drained me off completely in last one year had been finally over?  I wanted to re-confirm so I asked if I needed to go there again or any formality was left. He declined and assured me that it was over.

15 days later, I got my passport, during these 15 days I had that same nightmare couple of times again that things had taken a rude turn again. But luckily this time, I got my passport. (With a smiling photograph)J

Now when I look back at the whole thing, from a distance, many different thoughts run through the mind. Did I adopt a wrong approach? Did I dishonour and disobeyed the very principles that the man whose photo is on every currency preached?

I acted selfish, and raised no voice because I badly needed that document. Someone had recently remarked that it is this kind of selfish behaviour that is a root cause of some of the most heinous crimes in our society.  

So was I also, through this episode, somewhere weakening our society?  

***Title of this post is inspired by a famous satirical TV Serial Office-Office’s character Musaddi Lal, who is always shown caught in the quagmire of bureaucracy and finally has to pave his way by offering bribe.