EUROPE. The first few things that come to my mind are the French vineries,
Belgian Chocolates, German cars, Italian Food, Swiss Mountains,
Roman and Greek styled architectures.
When I came to UK in 2011, a plan to visit these
countries were embedded in my mind. I had decided to visit Germany, France,
Netherlands, Belgium, Austria,
Switzerland, Italy and Spain. The best time was to visit
these places are in the months of April – July for the weather is
good, warm, bright and sunny.
But, after coming here, I had not made any
sincere efforts to come up with a plan, as some of you know, I’m the
laziest bum ever! Finally in February, my friend, Shyam calls up and advises me
to get my Schengen VISA done as he wanted to go to Ibiza.
The main reason was to have a bachelor party organized there as he was due to
get married in June/July 2012. So I now had no choice but get my Schengen VISA at the earliest. Started having a look at the options and finally concluded
that going to France
initially would be the best option as I would be getting a longer validity of
my VISA.
Called up Star Tours here in the UK (02089002323) and booked my tickets for a 4 day trip to France and
shelled out a £380. The normal price per head is £310. But since I was a single
traveler in this trip, it meant that I would be not having anyone to share a
room with. Hence for a single room, the rate was £380. If I do happen to find a
person to share the room with, they have promised to reimburse about £70.
Now, the VISA rules have changed and this
means I need to book an appointment with the French Consulate to process my VISA, as
biometrics is now mandated. Unfortunately, Star Tours are now only offering consulting services in terms of getting the papers correct with a nominal fee
of £15. We are left to fend for ourselves in getting the dates for the
biometrics. The only way here is to get in touch with the TLScontact (https://www.tlscontact.com/gb2fr/login.php).
Registered in this site and got the appointment date for 27th March.
The dates are like 2-3 weeks away. So I had more than ample time to get all my
documents together. Got my trip confirmed and so did I receive the
required letter from the tours. Also I got my letters, pay slips, bank
statements etc from other sources. In short, I had everything in order and was
ready for the interview at the drop of a hat. Sat and twiddled my thumbs till
the D-Day arrived.
On 27th March, I set out early
for London Paddington (PAD). From Reading (RDG) the train journey is around 24-30
mins max, based on the speed of the train. My appointment was fixed at 0930
BST. From PAD, the TLScontact centre (Addison
Bridge Place) is about 18 mins via a District Line
(Paddington to Earl’s Court – District Line (Eastbound). Earl’s Court to West
Kensington – District Line (Eastbound)). So this means I had to be there by
0915 BST so that I have some ample time to breathe. Took the 0745 train to PAD from
Platform 8 in the RDG station. Made it to the train in the nick of time for I
thought I would miss this train and would have to take the 0753 train.
Thankfully it was still at the platform when I saw it. Quickly made a dash for
it and as soon as I entered the coach, the guard blew the whistle twice which
meant that the train doors would be closed finally. At this point, I wasn’t
sure if I has boarded the right train. After the train gained speed, asked a
co-passenger on the destination of the train. Luckily, it did turn out to be
the right train.
Reached PAD and quickly made my way to the
District Line area. Boy, I must tell you. Anyone would think I was a regular in
PAD. I went in the right direction all while, not looking at the tube map of the
sign boards aiding anyone who has lost their way and guide them in the right
direction. Took the District Line after waiting for a while and reached Earl’s
Court. Took the next District Line and reached West
Kensington.
Walked from West Kensington Tube station to
Addison Bridge Place, all thanks to the iPhone Google Map app. This is certainly a
very helpful app to anyone who has lost their way or is uncertain to reach any
place. Luckily I did not have to wait in the queue, got my passport and
application form scanned by the team. Was asked to wait for a while as it
wasn’t 0930 still. After waiting for a while, finally at 0940 I was called for
and by 1005 I was out of the building with my biometrics completed.
Stopped by at a breakfast joint and had a quick breakfast of my traditional
Bacon & Eggs, toasted with a skinny Latte! Reached office by 1145 and
resumed my normal duties with a large cup of tea.
THE ADVENTRUE BEGINS NOW.
As it was a Tuesday, completed all my
afternoon meetings and was a bit busy catching up with the meeting notes,
morning emails and other necessary tidbits to complete the day. After
completing the day’s work, I thought of checking my personal email. I saw an
email from the TLScontact. I thought it was an ordinary email, informing of the
progress they had made with my application. On opening the email, I was taken
in for a rude shock. At first I thought I must be dreaming. So I pinched
myself… hard and I realized I shouldn't have done that. The main context on the
mail was that my passport was ‘damaged’ and hence my VISA application will not
be processed unless I either get my passport rectified or get a new one.
I was furious and hoping mad. Was mainly
clueless not knowing what to do next. Luckily, as I was still at workplace, I
managed to keep my anger and tone in check. If this had been at home, one could
have seen Unidentified Flying Objects around! Yep, I’m a true Taurean who once
angry is difficult to control. I’m known for my temper and at times, my own
mother is scared of me! Spoke with my colleague, Milind (who also happened to
me my ex boss back in my previous project!) and he too was surprised
to hear about it. In the meantime, I get a call from the TLSContact team
informing me about the ‘damaged’ passport and asking me to collect it at the
earliest. Tried speaking to the bloke who called me but he just disconnected
the call.
Sat and tried to think on what they meant
by a damaged passport. The only thing I could think of was that the front
page’s lamination was sticking out a bit due to a fault of mine back in 2010.
Should have got it rectified then, but then I did get my UK visa and I
was here with the ‘damaged’ passport. Guess, there were several other reasons
for them to call it damaged. No use crying over spilt milk (or butter as it was butter that landed me into this 'damaged trouble' trouble!) and I had to think
of an alternate solution, act quickly, and ensure that what I do
is executed correctly.
Googled for the Indian embassy number.
Thanks to Google, found several numbers and also thanks to the several
websites, found most of them to be invalid as stated earlier. Somehow after
searching for a bit, found one number which seem valid. Called the number and
to my bad luck, as it was already past 1800 BST, there would be support person
to help me out! The phone rang and rang and rang. Finally, what I thought was
answered, get an automatic reply asking me to leave a Voice Message. Soon after
the beep, I get another message indicating that the person has not signed up
for this service. So this means that I was stuck with no help or advice.
One thing I’ve heard from a few of them on
the works of the Indian Embassy is something I cannot describe. I mean whether
to laugh or to sympathise the trauma of those who underwent torture. The
process is as follows. People start queuing from 0600 and the token issue
window opens at around 0845. People are there this early because in a day only
100 tokens are given out. So, if you are lucky, you get it. Else, better luck
next time. So this is the first part of the fun (of standing in the queue as
early as one can!). The second part of the fun is once you are inside. This is
explained in this blog and trust me, I pray that no enemy of mine suffers this
piece ever.
I gave up hope and left for the day and
went to Starbucks to have a coffee to soothe my nerves as I was very irritated
due to the sudden turn of events. Met another friend of mine, Gopi. Spoke with
him and he too was thinking on what to do next. Finally between us, we finally
decided that getting a new passport issued in London was a quicker and cheaper option. My
passport was due for a renewal in November 2012. So one might as well get it
renewed in London and save the hassle of getting
one done in Bangalore, India. Also the fees for getting a passport renewed was £29, and the fees for rectifying a passport was
£80. Thought of saving some money (as I got less salary this time!) and decided
to go for the renewal. Also heard that I takes atleast 5 working days get this.
We came to this conclusion after doing a lot of research on the net and also on
the Indian Embassy website. Luckily, there was not much of any documents to be
produced except for perhaps copies of my present passport and UK permit VISA,
4 passport sized photos and the filled application form. Immediately, decided
to go to office to take a print out of the application form for the renewal of
the passport.
After taking a printout at 2030 in the night,
ate something light, got all the required documents together, filled the
application form and slept early for I had a early, long tedious day tomorrow
with some shite load of running between places to be done. I guess I needed
some exercise for I have certainly gained some weight after coming here. (Well,
not so much after coming here, for I had already gained about 12 kgs between
April and August 2011, as I lost my mind completely to a stupid girl.)
Was to wake up early by 0530 but was again lazy to get up and was up by only 0600. After a while, finally left for
PAD at 0716 train. Reached PAD by about 0744. On the way, my mother called me
to inform me of the sad demise of my grand aunt, Radha mamama. Would say, she
was one of my favourite mamamas out of the many mamamas I have. Of course, have
been taught to love and respect all my elders but she was one of my favourites.
Will miss her when I now go to Udupi or Managalore, my native place. She could
prepare food with a snap of her fingers and her food were extremely simple and
nothing exotic. She used to make some excellent pulav, dalitoy, salads and goli
bajji was something she could never go wrong with. She prepared the best ever
in this world. She makes with love and I guess this makes a lot of difference.
Will miss you mamama. :’(
Reached PAD and quickly took the
Hammersmith & City (Pink Line) to Aldgate East and then towards Temple via the District
Line (Green Line). Was to take the Circle Line but I guess I made a mistake
here. Also, Hammersmith & City, Circle Lines operate from the same
platform/line and also share the same tubes (I could be wrong here). After a
long ride and changing tubes, I finally made my way to Temple. At Temple, used the iPhone Google map to
locate the Indian Embassy place and thanks t it, finally made my way to this
place after a couple of errors.
On reaching the place, I was taken in for a
rude shock with my facial expressions being weird including my mouth was left
hanging wide open, eyes popping out, raised eyebrows, goosebumps on my arms
(partly due to fright), hair on my arms standing straight like a porcuppine's (and I have very hairy arms :P). Reason : There was a huge crowd of people, mostly
Indians queued outside awaiting for the commencement of token distribution. A
quick scan, I estimated them to be anywhere between 175-200 of them. If I were
to consider them as pairs (which did not looks like as mostly were men in their
late 20s, early 30s) it meant I had some chance. Had reached this place by
about 0820 or so. Was cursing myself for not having reached this place earlier
and for having overslept. Anyway, prayed hard (something I rarely do for I’m an
Atheist most of the time. Not willing to argue about it. You have your views
and I have mine PERIOD) and stood in the serpentine queue which never seem to
end. By 0845, I looked around me, and I was in for a shock. There were as many
people behind me as there were in front of me. I wondered, what were the reason
for so many people visiting this place. Did they have to chose this day to
visit the Embassy or is it always this crowded? I never can say. Finally the
counter opened and people started entering the place. As I reached the counter,
the possibility of me getting the token diminished, or so I thought. As my turn
came, I just said stated my reason for visit as Passport Renewal. They gave a
token that read as Passport Services. Fair enough.
Enter the ‘Pearly Gates of Heaven’ and the
angels (security guards) felt me with the detector for any suspicious objects. At the
entrance was Chandragupta (some security guard noting down something I never
could say!) and he asked my reason for visiting this place. He then checked my
application form and other supporting documents. The passport was missing as it
was in the TLScontact centre. Explained the hot soup I was in and he just
smiled and asked me to get the passport and he said, take your sweet time. Even
if you are here at noon, you’ll still be served.
Thanking my stars, quickly walked to the Temple Tube
station, with a distraction on the way, thanks to a place called Penfriend. Did
not wander into the shop else the whole exercise of today’s programme would be a
lost cause. Took the District Line again to, what I thought was either Richmond or Ealing
Broadway. After Earl’s Court, the next stop was West
Brompton. Wasn't paying attention to was being said, I guess. When
I realized it was West Brompton, immediately
alighted and out came the iPhone Google map tool again. Realised I was quite far away
from the TLScontact centre and this meant more walking than originally planned.
L
Started walking as fast as I could towards
the centre. On reaching the place, I immediately produced the documents to get
my passport back. At first I tried reasoning with them on the ‘good’ condition
of the passport. However, they seem to be quite stubborn in this and continued
sticking to their theory of it being ‘damaged’. Gave up hope and finally
requested time to get it rectified. Again, they refused and requested me to go
thru the entire process once again. This meant getting a new appointment date
and the next date was 12th April and that was the day of my departure with Star
Tours. After explaining to them on the unreasonable demand, they discussed this
internally and agreed to wait for the process, provided I return the passport
within 5-7 working days. Relieved and promised them to have this done at the
earliest, left the place with a pleasant smile on my face. J
Immediately walked to Earl’s Court (which
is about 15 mins walk from the centre) and took the District Line to Temple and then to the
Embassy. Reached this place by 1055 and I guess I was almost bang on the
target. Once I reached inside, what I saw inside, I guess I almost fainted.
There were hoardes of people, loitering around. There was a cacophony of
sounds, some shouting, some talking normally, some crying, some laughing. I
thought I had entered either a mental asylum or a fish market. That’s the way I
saw it. Looked around, unsure of what to do next, saw a display screen with a
token number written on it and the counter number. Looked at the piece of paper
I received and lo and behold! It was my number! I guess I was lucky enough and
did not have to wait for long.
Went to counter number 2 and there were
several people around that place. Inquired a couple of them on their number and
found that they were much after me. Even though I was to be at the counter,
those cheeky bastards kept pushing me back saying, “Line mein khade ho jao.
Woh, display system, kaam nahin kar raha hai. Faltu mein rakhein hai!” (Go
stand in the line. The display system is kaput. They have placed it there
unnecessarily). To this I replied, “Lekhin, line kahaan hai? Sab log kood pahe
hai counter pe? Yeh sahi nahin hai!” (Where’s the line? Everyone seems to be
crowding around the counter. This is not right!) He glared at me and so did I.
Gave up hope and stood in the ‘line’. After a while, met a Sardarji who was
sweet and gentle to me. He asked me the purpose of my visit and advises to go
to counter number 7 to get another token and then come to counter 2 for this is
the way it works. Looked at counter 7 and there fewer people standing there.
Thanked him and dashed to counter 7.
Stood for a while near counter 7 after thinking
where the ‘queue’ was and deciding where to stand as there was no such thing
called as ‘queue’. After waiting for a while, when my turn came, I was told
that you need come to counter 7. Its
only for services like lost/damaged passports, submission of letters etc. So go
back to counter 2. Disappointed and angry with myself and the saradarji, went
back to counter 2 and there was a surprised look on the sardarji’s face. He too
was surprised but was kind enough to let me stand before him as he felt guilty
of misleading me. After waiting for a while and seeing no positive hope of the
‘queue’ moving any faster, I gave up hope and sulked quietly into the corner.
Now I have this habit of talking to myself,
at times quietly loudly enough. Crazy, I know, but then it’s the truth. So went
to corner and started cursing under my breath on how unruly it was and rude of
these people to act like this even though it was my turn to be at the counter.
Suddenly, I heard the laughter of a couple and realised I was audible
enough. I then apologized to the elderly couple, who turned out to be British.
We then exchanged pleasantries and had a small chit chat. They were under the impression I was born here,
looking at me cursing and getting irritated with the ‘system’ here. The old man
said, “Son, looking at the people around you, sometimes you have no choice but break the rules. As every rule
is broken here, go ahead and join them. I’m here since the last hour and is
enjoying the drama that’s happening around me. You are after all one amongst
them. So, go ahead and join them and have fun.” Thought for a moment and
everything made sense to me. Decided to give them a taste of their own medicine
and made a dash towards the maddening crowd, made my way through and was the next person to be served.
Argued with a couple of them to reach there finally.
Reached the counter, gave my application,
supporting documents and was asked to submit a fee of £29 in cash only. Don’t
think they know that there is something known as credit cards. Was aware of
this system thru both Milind as well as the website. So decided to have some
fun. Took out my purse and started removing £29 in all possible denominations. It
was mostly 10p, 20p, 50p, £1. Gave the chutta to the person who glowered at me and
gave a disgusted look. The persons who were standing behind me saw this started
laughing uncontrollably. Gave a sweet smile to the person across the counter
who was counting the change for the third time now. To irritate him, I had
actually given him £30. Hence, the reason for him counting thrice. With a more
disgusted look he gave back my £1 change in a single coin. He then gave me
another piece of paper and asked me to collect my passport on the 4th
of April.
The whole process was completed in less
than 5 minutes. And I guess I wasted about 45 mins for a miserable 5 mins of
actual work. For me, it was like something, I dare not put it here. Some have
some good impression about me and let it remain at that. With a sigh of relief
I then walked away, bidding goodbye to the elderly couple and exited the building.
Went to the Penfriend and had a look at the various models of pens they have on
display. I have a fascination for writing instruments, just like my dad.
Unfortunately, some of them which I like best are bloody costly and beyond my
reach. There are some costly ones, I certainly can afford, but then I have a
tendency to lose them! So I rarely buy them. After drooling over these
wonderful pieces, walked out with a heavy heart as the pens I wanted to ‘see’
wasn’t available.
Finally after loitering around, took the
tube to Paddington and finally reached Reading
at 1330 and joined office soon afterwards. Now all I could do was wait till
April 4th, collect my passport and submit it to the TLScontact
centre and pray for a miracle to happen. Was very worried for here there were 2
bank holidays inbetween, Good Friday (6th April) and Easter Monday
(9th April). So this means I had just about 2 or 3 working days to
get my VISA before I could go to France with Star Tours. With a
belief that everything will go off well, started my day err… afternoon and the
rest of the week went by well.
The story (looking at the length of the
blog and the pace at which its going!) now cuts to April 4th, where
another fun, but of a lesser magnitude unfurls.
As the passport would be issued at around
1600, this meant I had to leave Reading
by max of 1400 so that I could reach PAD and the Embassy early and get my
passport. On this day, I quickly wrapped up my work and had a quick bite and
left for the station as early as I could. By the time I reached PAD it was
around 1445 and reached Temple
by 1515. Reached the Embassy and found this to be empty. Asked the security
guard, if there were any chances of the counter opening sooner than 1600 hrs. But,
alas, NO! As I was here pretty early, decided to walk around the block and
guess what? I was back to Penfriend stores to drool over the pens once again.
This time I was on a mission. Some years back, Mont Blanc had released an entry
level pen collection called, Mont Blanc Generation. I was looking for this pen
for a while now. But alas, they did not have this with them and also weren’t
aware where this would be available. But they did promise me this time to let
me have a look at a couple of MB collectors pens as they realized, I was an
avid MB lover. Times passes quickly her and when it was 1550 hrs, I finally I
made my way to the Embassy. When I was inside, I was surprised to see the
crowd. Again, there were as many people as there were last week, if not more!
Again, wasn’t sure of what needs to be done to get my passport. Asked this
Mallu (Mallu is the short for Mallayalee, who hails from Kerala) chap behind
the counter and he just said, “Slip the counterfoil we’d given to you through
this slot. In a while, we shall retrieve them and start distributing the
passports." Unsure, I slipped the counterfoil and waited patiently for them to
open the counter.
Some of us Indians are known to be confused
and also to confuse the others! Alongside counter 7, I think it was counter 4
or 5, they were also distributing the passports. Not sure what was the
difference between these 2 counters. And so, there was chaos and people were
running pillar to post to know where they would be getting their passports. It
was now well past 1600 and the counter was still to open. People were now
pouring in strong numbers with counterfoils in their hand! As they poured in
stronger numbers, they too were shocked to know that they only had to deposit
the foil and pray that they get it early! Many were not too happy and they
repeatedly asked the Mallu, if they really had to deposit it this way! Well, people
came, put their hands through the slot to deposit their foils and left. Unbelievable!
Periodically, I could see a hand appearing mysteriously clearing the
counterfoils. I guess, they were sorting the passports for distribution. 1625
hrs and they were still to open! With every passing second, things become a
little more tense for me for I had every intention of taking the new passport
with me to the TLScontact to submit it without any delay.
Finally, at 1625, the Mallu came majestically
and sat on his throne. They soon started calling out the names and started
distributing the passports. Finally at 1640 or so, my turn came, or so I thought.
Turned out to be a different Vinay! Thankfully, I did not have to wait for long as they did call out my name! Immediately, took the passport, checked if everything
was correct and immediately dashed to the Temple tube station.
Took the District Line to Earl’s Court
after a short wait at Temple. Alighted at Earl’s Court and immediately made a
dash for the TLScontact place. Reached this place by 1720 and it was closed for
the day. They usually close at 1700 hrs. Luckily there was someone at the
counter located outside the place, where they generally handout the passports
or accept any of the missing documents. Spoke to the gentleman regarding the
purpose of my visit to this place. But as the counter was already closed, he
refused to accept it and asked to return the next day, if there was a slot
available or will have to book a new slot on another day. He refused to listen
to me on this. Suddenly, the man who handed my passport to me the last week,
appeared to talk to this gentleman. He saw me and seemed to recognize me
for he gave a bright smile and nodded too. I spoke to him and showed my new
passport to him. He asked me to wait and disappeared and in a short while, he
appeared with a lady and then motioned me to enter the building. But, the
security near the door refused to allow me inside for he just said, “Sorry,
mate. The business is closed for the day! Come back tomorrow at 0900!” Before, I
could utter a word, the lady motioned the guard to let me in. The guard had no
option but to let me in. The lady then had a look at me documents, passport and
then took me to the biometric counter and ‘ordered’ a chap to clear me.
Now this chap was a French (obviously!) who
took my documents, passport and photos and scanned them. He immediately entered
the details and took my mugshot for the VISA and also my fingerprints as a part
of the biometrics. He looks at the papers and smiles to himself and remarked, “Do
you know something? I’m working here for the past 4 years and this the first
time, I’ve ever come across an Indian with a very simple last name and a simpler
first name. What’s more? It’s also very simple to pronounce! J” I had no other option but to smile too! He then finished the
process by getting me to sign in a couple of places and closed the ‘deal’ with
an assurance to have this completed by the 10th or the 11th
of April as I was scheduled to leave for France on the 12th morning.
The story (looking at the turn of events
and keeping ever reader bored to death now!!) now again cuts to April 10th,
where the adventure comes to an end.
On April 10th, I check my
personal email to understand the progress of my Schengen visa. On Thursday (5th
April), the update was that they had sent the passport for processing. But
today, I got an email stating that my passport has been returned to the TLScontact
centre, but no mention of my visa being rejected or accepted. Called the centre
and requested them not to send the passport by post as I would be coming over
to pick up the passport personally either in the evening or the next day. I
decided to make another trip to London to pick up the passport as I wasn’t sure
if they would edeliver it on time the next day as it was 11th and
that was the only day I had with me and the next day I would be off to France.
Finished my afternoon meetings, requested my Line Manager if I could leave
early that day, as I had rather an urgent appointment in London that evening.
Susan, my LM, was a sweet lady and she agreed to let me off early that day as I
had completed all my tasks for that day!
Again went to London and then to the
TLScontact centre, collected my passport and was relieved to see that they had
given a Schengen visa. Was initially disappointed to see that the validity of
the visa was only 30 days. I thought, inspite of all the trouble taken by me
and the amount I spent (a total of around £320) for everything inc, the train
journeys, visa charges, passport charges etc was it really worth it? Boy,
getting this visa turned out as costly as going to France! But, then I’ve
always been taught to see something positive, and was glad that atleast my
France trip was still on and so also to Ibiza trip (which later cancelled due
to no show by my friends!).
So with the 30 day visa permit, I went to
France for 4 days and to Netherlands for 2 days. Thought of going to another
place in between as Ibiza got cancelled, but I later decided against it, as I realized
that I needed some company in these strange foreign lands!
At the end, looking at the adventure, the
trauma, the pain I undertook in March/April to get a schengen visa and my
passport renewed, I later realized that I now have an Indian passport that’s
issued in London and the first visa to be stamped is that of France and then Netherlands.
Is this globalization?
Also, another point I noted was that I got
my renewed passport within a week. I have heard people in India say that
renewal of passports takes at least a month’s time! So that’s a real cherry at
the top I guess!!!
So I now need to wait for year 2022 to see
what adventure befalls me then when I shall be getting my 4th passport!
Vinay
(Started writing this in Reading in 2012 but complete this in Bangalore after being reminded by a couple of them as they were too facing the same issue. My apologies to them for not having completed on time.)
