Those three days…
Yes, three days. Recently US embassy has changed some rules
so one has to take two appointments on two different days, one for biometric
and other one for interview with the consulate. For me, I had to travel from
Bangalore to Chennai, so extra day got add up.
Traveling to Chennai is always adventurous, especially if
you do not understand or speak Tamil. I am saying adventurous, adventures can
be dangerous too.
Day 1
It was 24
th of October, Wednesday and people
around the country were celebrating festival of Dussera, I was celebrating my
sleep. 11:30 my cell phone started ringing, it was from my colleague who was
also going for his visa stamping, fortunately we both got same interview dates
to we thought of traveling together.
‘Bus is at 12:30 if you are done with your sleep’ his voice
gave a hint of panic situation. And I replied with a sentence which acts as a
panic controller ‘I am in my way’ it hardly took anytime to get ready, as I was
already done with my packing, I just had to wrap myself.
‘What time the bus will reach?’ I asked the driver and in
reply I got a weird silence. This was the first hint, that I was going to a
foreign country called Chennai, where no one will answer unless until your
question is in Tamil.
We have booked seat number R9, R10 a seabird traveler’s
multi axle Volvo bus. All was well. It stopped at a nice restaurant for lunch
and as the conductor has already told that it would stop only for twenty
minutes, we had to literally throw the food in our mouth and had to run so it
doesn’t leave us there. After a nice lunch and AC running to a temperature of
22 degree Celsius, one needs a nice cozy nap. But thanks to the conductor he
put on a Tamil movie named ‘journey’ which was about a bus accident on the
highway. Great stuff isn’t it? Especially if you are also in a bus running with
a speed of 90 on a highway. I could see some people getting a shivering
whenever our bus took a sharp turn or a sudden break, thanks to the movie.
Finally we were on the great soil of Chennai, surrounded by
at least seven auto drivers. Rather than talking to us they were talking or can
say arguing with each other. Finally one of them won and turned to us and said
something like ‘Enga ponga’ or enga pongana’ which he himself translated to
‘where going’ once he found a blank sheet expression stuck on our face. Before
I could respond to it, my friend took out a sheet of pare and read the address
and the next moment a number started echoing 300…300…300. Although Company was
paying our expenses but it looked high enough. But every auto driver repeating
same number left no choice but to stuff ourselves in one of those autos.
After struggling for half an hour we finally found the guest
house. But this half an hour hunt caused fifty more rupees as the auto driver
claimed he has burned more than 300 rupee gas, I believed him after he repeated
the word ‘gas’ for 17 times.
Rooms
were already booked. So I just dumped my bag on the bed and ordered dinner.
Next hour I was busy inspecting my documents and the cloths, which I had
planned for the biometric, strictly formal.
Day 2
I felt like I was in love, was having trouble with sleep,
heart was not in control and body slow like an earthworm. It was already seven
in the morning. My appointment was at 9 and I was ready to go at 8. This time
the manager of the guest house helped me getting an auto with bargain of 160.
And in few minutes I was in front of US embassy.
It was a normal building, same as an LIC office if you have
seen one. A small gate with single security guard, was surrounded by a stream
of people few in formals like me, few with families and kids, all having bunch
of files and documents with them. I went and stood in the line, which was not
moving till 8:30. At exactly 8:30 the security guy called and the line started
moving rapidly and next moment I was at the gate in front of him. ‘Yours is at
9 you can wait few minutes’ he said politely and I was pleased. After entire
8:30 batch people were inside, we had to wait for at least twenty minutes and
the guy called again. Here I was the first person from 9’ O clock batch to
enter the campus. I have already seen the direction where people were headed. I
took the same path, it lead me to stairs and after climbing twelve steps I was
again part of a queue, some of the people from previous batch were still
waiting for their turn. A fat lady in blue trousers and ping shirt appeared and
started calling names form the sheet. As and when person’s name appeared he
went and joined the line. Just when I started to doubt whether my name is there
or not, she called me and next moment I was also a part of the line which was
going into a chamber having a huge metal door.
I entered the room to find people in same blue trousers and
pink shirts all around. One of them took the documents, verified and handed me
over with an extra pink colored piece of small paper with a number printed on
it, they called it a token. Once I got the token I was directed to a hall room,
with lots of chairs, it was like a waiting room of some railway station. Walls
were connected through windows to many small small rooms and some people, in
same uniform were sitting behind those windows. There was no digital screen to
display the token numbers, instead one of those were calling out loud for the
numbers. My number came and I was in front of a window.
‘Name and Date of Birth?’ the lady from the other side
asked. Once she was satisfied that I was the correct guy she asked me to stand
straight to take a picture from the camera which was hanging from the corner of
the window. Then after taking finger print of all my fingers she wished me luck
for the interview.
It was all done, I thought for such a small task they were
wasting a complete day and also the trouble of asking two appointments, anyway,
now it was time to complete the tasks which I was not able to do before, sleep.
I woke up only to realize that the day was already over.
Opened the laptop just to find few mails and remaining day
went working on those mails, thanks to my support project.
Day 3
Morning 6’O clock, all alarms were yet to be shot. Interview
was at 10:30 but you have to believe that I was ready for it before 8. Next one
hour I spent just reading the news paper and sipping tea. Sharp 9 I was at the
reception asking the manger to call for an auto. 60 rupees and I was in front
of a building not very different form the one which I visited yesterday, just a
bigger version and more than extra security, every few steps they very checking
document, checking for electronic items or anything suspicious. i was already
prepared, carrying just the files and myself. No mobile, no rings, no wallet,
not even handkerchief, just few rupees which were sufficient to take me back to
my hotel.
In the queue you can find almost complete India, families,
brides, children, old parents, officials, managers, employees, tourists, almost
all genres. Once you are in, first thing
will be to understand where to go, I asked one of the guy who was in same
uniform and he directed me to a counter where the guy on the counter took out
some bunch of papers from my bundle of documents and tied together in a
separate bunch and handed me a printed paper written ‘N-07’, one more token.
This time there were digital screen which were displaying the numbers and the
window on which you have to report. I found an empty chair and dumped myself
waiting for my number to be displayed.
I was again in a queue, this time the lady behind the window
was not an Indian national, and again my fingerprints were taken and verified
with the one which was taken yesterday. Now I was in final line, which was as
big as a line in front of a government tap, just before the regular time of the
water to flow from it.
All seems tensed; I was helplessly trying to control my own
heartbeat. The queue took us to an adjacent building and at the gate a security
guard started to send people in by count, sometimes ten in a row and sometimes
just two. My turn came and I was in front of a huge metal door, it was heavy
that in first attempt I was not able to open it. Across the door there was a
similar hall room which gives a look of a waiting room of some railway station,
full of people.
I got a chair to sit and started observing the procedure
while keeping an eye on the display screen which was showing the token numbers
and the window number on which your fate is going to be decided. Window 24 was
just in front of me and looking at the guy on it I started praying that I
should not get the same window. He was showing no emotions, and I noticed many
of them were returning from that window with their passport, which is a sign
that your visa has been rejected. But irony that my token number and the window
number 24 aligned in the same row of the table which was being displayed on the
screen. I stood up and went in front of
the window. A lady was already there and to my relief her visa got approved and
she left the window smiling. My turn,
‘Hi’ he said without a smile.
‘Hello’
‘Can I have your documents?’
‘Sure’ I handed over the one which was separated and tied by
the officer when I entered the embassy.
He checked the documents and turned to me with few generic
questions, like.
‘What is your client name?’ ‘How much salary you will get?’ and ‘for how
long you have been working for your current employer?’
Once he was satisfied with my communication skill, he said,
‘okay sir, I am approving your visa, you will get your passport within 3-4
working days.’ He finally smiled. I said thank you and left the window. That’s
all.
Rest of the day went fine, in traveling and sharing
experience with my family and also the friend whose visa too got approved. Cheers.
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