Passport Blues

My country just loves me so much that it doesn't want me to leave it,ever.So much so that it is not willing to even consider my passport application.Six visits to the Mumbai passport office, and phew, I am so overwhelmed by the compassion that my dear country is showering upon me that I have almost given up on the very thought of applying for an Indian passport.Time after time , my application was summarily rejected on one ground or the other despite my 'meticulous' preparation and compilation of all necessary documents almost a month before my first visit(all this to avoid a second visit, and look at the result, I went five times more!!)

The biggest revelation of this whole episode, however, was that I don't have a proper birth certificate till date.Which means that there is no record of me being born in India at any municipal office across the country.It was a shocker.My proof of birth so far was a yellowish parchment which says in poor Tamil handwriting that some child was born on the 28th of December 1989.It doesnt even have my name nor does it have any official seal/signature.I just wonder how my parents managed to get me into school using that.

So basically, there is one thing standing between me and my passport- A birth certificate.There is this stupid rule that those born after 26.01.1989 can submit only a municipal birth certificate as proof of birth.I still fail to understand the logic behind it.When there are tonnes of documents- my school leaving certificate, my voter ID etc. all of which say I was born at so-and-so place on so-and-so date, why are they hell bent on obtaining a certificate which can anyway be forged by a bribe of less than INR 1000?One might wonder then why am I not paying the bribe and obtaining one.Well, at the very outset,I had decided to do things the honest way, for some reason.May be a sense of awareness against the evils of corruption or may be just the exciting prospect of bragging rights on how I went the right way and that things are still good in the country(It no more sounds exciting).I decided to go as per procedure and have shelled out more than INR 3000 and the birth certificate is not even remotely in sight.

The entire sequence gave me some valuable insights into how tough life can be if one tries not to take the crooked and the shorter path.From the very beginning, I was clear that I would not be in a hurry and wrap up the process as per ' official procedure'.I even got an address proof for my hostel room, when many of my friends staying in Mumbai insisted that this information can be hidden to get things quickly done.But then there was one friend who almost ended up in prison for misrepresenting information and had to stoop down to the level of a chai-wallah for escaping (Yeah, he bought chai and biscuits from a shop and served it to the policeman to get things cleared).I decided to be honest and went as per procedure,providing all details.The result- he got a passport whereas my application still waits to be seen.

Quoting Dempo, " It is strange that one needs to spend less to get some things done the crooked way than going straight. Obtaining a passport is one of them."