(Read Episode 1 to understand the background of our struggle in getting Sofia's passport.)
After our verification file got sent back by the police, we did not have the time to reapply and so assumed that our file was closed in the promised 1 month. We thought we would reapply in Hyderabad as soon as Sofia got a little free. Well, time went by and Sofia got free a year later when she resigned from work !! We went to the Pune passport office just after New Year's 2012 to get our closure letter, which we could use to reapply in Hyderabad.
To our surprise, the inquiry guy in the Pune passport office told us that our file was still open even after more than a year. Whew... that's efficient. We filled out the PP forms again for re-verification. Sofia vowed to make it in time when the police came around this time. So the wait began.
We finally got a call from the police station in April 2012. They said we would have to show up in 2 days or they would send the file back. Apparently, mom found out, they had got the file in early Feb and had sat over it for 2 months because of laziness and election duty and... did I mention laziness? Now they were in a big hurry. Mom trying to bribe the officer didn't work either. So we dropped everything and got the next train out of Hyderabad and hauled ourselves to the police station. There we learnt that 'Sahab' was away on a month long holiday and nothing could be done until his temporary substitute showed up. The officer was very reassuring and said if our case was urgent he would do his best... (to get a heavy bribe, I thought. Why the @#$% did you call us in a hurry if you new your sahab was not there.)
So I extended my leave for a few more days, cancelled all my appointments and emailed instructions for work to get done. I could hopefully work remotely if the power cuts weren't too frequent. Sofia mostly shopped.
A weekend, 2 public holidays and an auto-rickshaw strike later, sahab finally arrived. The officers were also finally free from their 'bandobast' duties. After cold calling the officer thrice a day we had finally scored an appointment. When we reached the police station, we were told that sahab had to go for an urgent meeting, but no worries, the replacement's replacement would now examine our stuff and sign off. After a 3 hour wait, Sofia got a quick interview done. The officer then called us to a separate office and managed to secure his chai paani for the 'urgent' processing. I have to share it with sahab too, he assured us.
So now we wait... for the postman... to get the prized passport. Will keep you posted when we do get it.
Note: Please visit http://ipaidabribe.com/ to ease your conscience.
Also visit http://www.wikifyindia.com/wiki/Passport to share your experience and help others. The site is maintained by a good friend Sohel.
After our verification file got sent back by the police, we did not have the time to reapply and so assumed that our file was closed in the promised 1 month. We thought we would reapply in Hyderabad as soon as Sofia got a little free. Well, time went by and Sofia got free a year later when she resigned from work !! We went to the Pune passport office just after New Year's 2012 to get our closure letter, which we could use to reapply in Hyderabad.
To our surprise, the inquiry guy in the Pune passport office told us that our file was still open even after more than a year. Whew... that's efficient. We filled out the PP forms again for re-verification. Sofia vowed to make it in time when the police came around this time. So the wait began.
We finally got a call from the police station in April 2012. They said we would have to show up in 2 days or they would send the file back. Apparently, mom found out, they had got the file in early Feb and had sat over it for 2 months because of laziness and election duty and... did I mention laziness? Now they were in a big hurry. Mom trying to bribe the officer didn't work either. So we dropped everything and got the next train out of Hyderabad and hauled ourselves to the police station. There we learnt that 'Sahab' was away on a month long holiday and nothing could be done until his temporary substitute showed up. The officer was very reassuring and said if our case was urgent he would do his best... (to get a heavy bribe, I thought. Why the @#$% did you call us in a hurry if you new your sahab was not there.)
So I extended my leave for a few more days, cancelled all my appointments and emailed instructions for work to get done. I could hopefully work remotely if the power cuts weren't too frequent. Sofia mostly shopped.
A weekend, 2 public holidays and an auto-rickshaw strike later, sahab finally arrived. The officers were also finally free from their 'bandobast' duties. After cold calling the officer thrice a day we had finally scored an appointment. When we reached the police station, we were told that sahab had to go for an urgent meeting, but no worries, the replacement's replacement would now examine our stuff and sign off. After a 3 hour wait, Sofia got a quick interview done. The officer then called us to a separate office and managed to secure his chai paani for the 'urgent' processing. I have to share it with sahab too, he assured us.
So now we wait... for the postman... to get the prized passport. Will keep you posted when we do get it.
Note: Please visit http://ipaidabribe.com/ to ease your conscience.
Also visit http://www.wikifyindia.com/wiki/Passport to share your experience and help others. The site is maintained by a good friend Sohel.
as long as u get the passport.....
ReplyDeleteKeeping my fingers crossed :)
ReplyDelete