The Marriage of Mujeeb Rahman Moideen

Mujeeb Rahman Moideen – One of my best friends. He was getting married. I did what a best friend would do – take two weeks leave, go to his marriage and enjoy. This summer, with Pune getting hotter and hotter, his marriage may be a reason to go to Ooty! But the chillness of Ooty was the least that I enjoyed. The most I enjoyed are the moments spent along with all the old pals (some new ones as well) on a typical Muslim marriage day. Thanks to you Mujji – it was an unforgettable experience.

Our plan was simple. Mujeeb’s marriage was on 18^th May. We were supposed to be there in Coonoor by 17^th of May. Our plan was to reach Coimbatore by 5PM, 17^th May. We can then catch a cab or a bus and reach Coonoor before it’s too late. We started from our respective natives on 17^th May and I’m the one who kept the promise. I reached Coimbatore by 4:40PM and called one by one. Everyone said that they’re on the way and it’d take 45 minutes for them to reach. The worst part of my waiting came when I called Ranga (Ranganathan Ragothaman) after 45 minutes and he said the same timing – he’d be there in about 45 minutes! Finally we all were in a cab towards Coonoor at about 8PM. Let me introduce my friends – Thiru, Vinodh, Ranga and Yatin – a new pal into my list. We reached late and met Shyam & Mr. and Mrs. Badri who reached there before us. We had dinner at Mujeeb’s home, met his family and it was wonderful. I still can’t forget the Sambar there!


On the marriage day, a bus was booked which bagged all the relatives of Mujeeb along with us and slowly, crawled towards Manappuram, Kerala. The marriage was arranged at the bride’s home-town and from Coonoor it takes about 6 hours to reach there by bus. Guys – as always, booked the last seats and it was full of noise. On our request, Mujeeb was travelling with us in the bus and we started to tease him all the way. Occasional stops for tea/ breakfast and other than that the travelling was very good until Mujeeb was with us. He had to get down at one stage and get into an Indica with his close relatives, do a fresh-up (makeup’s as well), and change. We reached Kerala at around 2 in the noon and the climate was just opposite to that of Ooty. By this time, I had made two more new pals – Sooraj and Saran.


It was a busy day on that particular marriage hall. 3 marriages were scheduled and it was quite a scene. Fully crowded and everyone’s looking for something. Photographers were busy taking snaps. Children play at the entrance – some mothers cautioning or chasing them. There we were – sitting just behind Mujeeb – who’s surrounded by atleast 4 people. One of them was the bride’s father and some of them were err… I don’t know how to call them! Some seniors, who conduct marriages, may be. They prayed – the way a Muslim would do. And then came the agreement (I really don’t know if that’s an agreement. I’m sorry if calling that an agreement would be an offense – I didn’t mean to. Everything there was written in Malayalam and it’s Chinese to me). Mujeeb has to fill that form-kind-of-agreement and sign. He was assisted or instructed by the seniors around him to complete. I believe the same kind-of-stuff would be done for bride as well which we did not witness.


When this was complete, it is said that the marriage is complete. We shook hand with Mujeeb, said “Congrats”. It is their formality that Mujeeb have his lunch with his friends, after the marriage. We had lunch; thankfully, there were Vegetarian foods as well. After marriage, we left towards a river which was very near to the marriage hall. The water was good, some of them took bath. We did not bring any clothes, so we just walked though the banks and enjoyed the breeze. I don’t know how those kind of lovely evenings just fly. It was soon dark and we had to leave towards Coonoor. Mujeeb did not accompany us this time (rightfully so) in the bus and it was a kind of boring-and-sleeping-journey back. We reached late and were directly dropped at Mujeeb’s home. We had dinner and left towards our lodge. At the end of 18^th May, we were exhausted and slept immediately, unaware of the things that’s going to happen the next day.


-- To be continued…

A weekend with the Rockers

A weekend with the Rockers

Saturday morning. I was in deep sleep when Ramanan called me. I know he’d call me. I had kept my alarms, but didn’t know if that ringed! I am going to be a part of Rockers team today, who, were the rivals of us once. Although our team is Southern Scorpions, they call our team “Tsunami Guys”. It’s painful that most of the scorpions left our team but they are happy somewhere out of Pune. It’s hard to build another team, so we almost forgot cricket. Ramanan told me that they’re playing a tournament and are in short of people. I along with Thiru, a fellow scorpion, started towards our very own Vishal Nagar cricket ground. They say you have to start the game on time, or else, the points will be reduced. So, we were there on time when the lazy sun was just above the horizon, we won the toss, elected to Bat first.

There were only two good bowlers on the opposite team and we didn’t know that until they bowled all their 4 overs. It was at the end of 8 overs we were struggling at 40 for the loss of 6 wickets. The two good bowlers bowled out all their allotted overs and picked up 3 each. Our star batsmens – Hari, Fazal, Raaga, Vineet (another scorpion), Thiru and another fellow (I don’t quite remember his name – he came along with Raaga) were out cheaply. To avoid a certain embarrassment, Gaja and Karthikeyan put up a partnership after that and soon we were playing good. The other bowlers were mostly Spin and so, it was easy for us to score runs, but avoided some big shots. I’d say that Karthikeyan played an anchor role while Gaja exploded in the death overs.


There was time when I was supposed to bat after Gaja was out. Well, I’d been a decent batsman once, but after sometime, I lost my focus on batting and focused more on my bowling. My role was just to give the strike to Karthikeyan. I should tell that their bowling was not so good (after the first 8 overs) that even I scored a boundary in the final over of the batting power-plays. In the end we posted a score of 96 for 8 which should still be a good one when playing with the tennis ball. The lazy sun was no more as such and was firing up everyone. I remember a TV commercial for Glucovita or GluconD where the animated sun will use a ‘straw’ to drink up all the energy. I felt that way. Pune was no more a ‘pleasant city’ and suddenly I felt like I was in Chennai.

The chase began and our bowlers did bowl well for about 4 or 5 overs. Karthikeyan picked up wickets where Fazal bowled some nice spells. Things were under control until a new batsman with number 10 on his jersey came to bat. One of the fastest bowlers in our team is Fazal and this number 10 tried a reverse-sweep of Fazal’s pace and got a nasty blow on his face. I was shocked to see the impact from the square-leg, but the big-fella kept his cool and acted as if nothing was so serious. Infact, he did score boundaries off Fazal and most of the other good bowlers using the reverse-sweep. Thiru was the man who was at the slip and when all the reverse-sweeps went past him, he had to go and fetch the ball. In the end, it was all over within 15 overs and they win comfortably, losing only 3 or 4 wickets (we lost count).


Sunday morning. Same deep sleep and call from Ramanan. He had to call me thrice because I missed two of his calls. Today, Thiru was not going to accompany me as he’s going to see the Delhi Dare Devils Vs Pune Warriors IPL match at the D.Y. Patil. The slip position would miss him. We had changes in our team (no, no injuries and stories, people were un-available). Raaga and his Companion, Karthikeyan, and Thiru were out and Ashok (Scorpion), Sujith, Pratosh and another Karthigeyan were in. This Fatty – Pratosh, is a very good batsman. Atleast, I believe so. Our earlier encounters with the Rockers were filled with this Pratosh’s ‘wall’. The opposite team was late to come and so, they had some arguments with the points. We still won the toss and elected to bat first again.


Unlike the other team, where only two bowlers bowled well, this team had decent bowlers. Infact, one of them bowled like Irfan Pathan and everytime when the ball zipped past the outside edge, batsman would consider himself as lucky. With the angle he bowls to the right hander, it was tough for us to play. Our batting was not up to the mark as the person who I thought would not give the batting opportunity to others – the wall, Pratosh failed. Even I had to bat in the final overs and thankfully there were no more miracles of me getting boundaries. Some good batting shown by Sujith, Fazal and we posted the same total of 96 on the board. Bowling looked good with Sujith back in the team so, we infact, felt this was a very good score. I bowled the first over of the second innings and picked a wicket of a left-handed batsman. Things were under-control when again a man with number 10 on the jersey came into bat.


I felt a déjà-vu. The man with number 10 played very differently. As soon as the bowler starts his run-up, he walks outside the crease and stands in a position which is awkward. Normally, a bowler can see the side portion of the batsmen (either left or right). When this fellow walks out of the crease and changes his position, the bowler can se his front position, face facing him, with his bat right between his knees. It’s like an umpire seeing the wicket keeper. He then attempts either a reverse-sweep or a fine-leg flick. Either way, he gets a boundary! He kept getting runs and our best bowlers went for many. After a good first spell of 2 overs, I was also taken away with a six and a four – thirteen in my 3 ^rd over. We almost lost our hope.


KVM or Karthik Menon is a medium pacer. He was given the ball when number 10 was exploding at one end. As always, the fellow came out of the crease, faced the bowler and was ready for a reverse-sweep or a fine-leg flick. With his pace, he could only connect the ball high in the air, towards gully. Ashok, a fellow scorpion who’s had a terrible record in the field, ran-in and settled under the ball. I should say that I was worried. In the end, it was an anti-climax. He took the catch and claimed himself as Ramji in Chennai 600028! The wicket of number 10 did not help much. Others in the team – played well and they were scored atleast 6 runs per over. It was all over in the 13^th over when they hit a boundary off Karthigeyan’s last ball. We lost two in-a-row and eventually at the verge of out-of-tournament.


I don’t know what comes in the next week, or even if I’ll play for the Rockers again. I’d not forget the two number 10s who changed the pace of the game. I’d not forget the catch by Ashok. I’d not forget the nightmares of Thiru, fielding at the slip. And, I’ll not forget the sun, sucking all the energy.


Dedicating this to all my fellow Scorpions. Fondly remembering the great time with them.

Corporates and their Politics

You have a resource. He or She wants to be near his or her home. You have your company all over the world. Why in the earth these corporate play? Although they have the branches all over the world, why don’t they just give you the location that you want to work? The benefits are obvious – you work hard – isn't that’s what they need?

The November and the Southern Scorpions

Every year, from as early as I finished my college days, November month was somewhat special. Some people who work for the American Clients can understand that. Yes, Thanks giving holidays. How thoughtful they are to celebrate a festival with 4 days of leave! For people like us, there are a lot of pains. We need to take leave for Diwali or Ramadan (although it is an Indian holiday) and work in night shifts. But, at free will, 4 days at the near-end-of-an-year. I don’t know if I’m lucky or un-lucky to celebrate my 7^th ever Thanks giving holidays. After I came to Pune, most of my thanks giving holidays were converted as a local trip to some place. May it be Goa (2007), may it be Matheran (2008), and may it be Malavli (2009). Let it be Alibagh this time (2010)! Yes, the one you are reading right now is gonna describe my experience to and from Alibagh.

Month-ends were always not so pleasant. Short of money but, we personally like the quote “You just have one life, enjoy to its extent”. So, we (I, Mujeeb, Venkitakrishnan, Vinodh, Vineet, Brabin and Ashok) decided to go for Alibagh this time. We booked a Tavera on a misty-Friday morning, 26^th November. We finished our breakfast at Wakad and started at around 6 in the morning. As our Tavera rolled on the Express way, we were busy taking snaps of the misty road. We couldn’t see anything after or before 10 meters from our vehicle. It was a pleasant feeling – as if you were travelling in the clouds. Why don’t we have express-ways all around India? Won’t that be good? Let’s not go away from our topic. So, yes, we were on the Express way and it was good to be on it. We stopped for some snacks and then moved on. At around 7:30 or so, on the yellow-or-red-sky, when the sun was just lazy getting up, we saw something that’s just above the sun. Something like a hook, brighter than sun (at that time). It looked like as if someone just made an awkward zero on a dusty glass. We couldn’t get a snap of it and as time passed, it just disappeared.

(Express way Snaps)

Our first destination was Kolaba fort. We reached there at around 9 in the morning, took some tea/ coconut water. The fort was a good 2.5 kms from the seashore. It was morning and I couldn’t see the sea water for about 2 kms. It was a dry-sea-sand. There’s a transport available towards the fort – horse cart. The person asked Rs. 40 per head and we decided to walk. We walked through the dry sand, took some snaps and finished crossing about 0.5kms of the sea water with ease.

(Pose by Mujeeb, Snap by Balu)

Snaps all the way in the fort, and at the top, we could see some nice “eligible-for-desktop-wallpaper” scenes.

(From left: Brabin, Vinodh, Balu [top], Vineet, Ashok)

(From Kolaba Fort)

We left the fort after two hours and there was a surprise for us. We could not see the dry sand which we saw couple of hours before. Sea water everywhere – all the 2.5 kms. Oh dear! We thought of crossing it again as it was less-than-foot-level before. But now, as soon as we stepped-in, we could understand that the sea level has raised. We had to take the horse-cart. We crossed the sea and reached the shore after 40 minutes. In between, we crossed atleast 5 horse-cart-nearly-sinkable-heights.

(Picture below taken @ 9AM – see the background, most places towards the fort is dry)

(Picture below taken at around 11:30 AM – see the same place fully covered with water)

(Picture taken on the way from the fort to the shore)

Janjira Fort was our second destination. Time flew away like the speed of a storm and it was almost 2PM when we reached Janjira. The fort looked like an abandoned island. You’ll need to catch a boat to visit the fort. They said it’ll take some time for the next boat to come, so we decided to have our lunch. During our lunch, the boat came and left towards the fort. Post lunch we need to again wait for the next boat. We took some snaps of the fort from the shore and we ourselves.

(Janjira Fort)

(A view from the shore to the right of the fort)

Time was running and we decided to visit the fort next time and started towards our ultimate goal – the Kashid beach. We reached the beach at around 4:30 PM in the evening.

(Mujeeb relaxing @ the beach)

(Sunset at the beach)

Most of us did not sleep on the Thursday night and so, we were tried. We played in the beach for the next 3 hours and started back towards Pune at around 7:30 PM. We reached our room late night and felt absolutely tired. It was once again, a wonderful trip to remember!

Extra bit:

Southern Scorpions is the name of our cricket team in Pune. The players in this team plan trips together.

The Curious Case of Passport

It started on April 2007. I was working at Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh. That was actually a vacation from Secunderabad to my hometown, Tirunelveli. The manager over there requested me to get a passport so I can be sent Onsite. During that time, I don’t know, but I never liked onsite. But my manager kept on forcing me to get the passport, so I decided to apply one during this vacation. So, I applied for the passport along with my best friend, Sethu at Tirunelveli on 18^th April 2007. We (I and Sethu) didn’t move through the agent as we thought we are educated enough to fill-in the application. That’s the first ever application I made for passport. My first mistake that, I work in Andhra Pradesh and applied for a passport in Tamil Nadu. After that, I came back to Secunderabad and worked normally. As always, sometime we feel that the job that we do used to be boring. So, I applied for so many companies and Infosys Technologies Limited was one of them. I was called for an offshore campus interview and was selected during the process. I wasn’t able to make it to their first offer date, so I accepted the next, 18^th June 2007.

Trouble started when I was in training at Mysore. The police verification was on and I was not there at Tirunelveli. The policeman who came for the verification did not accept any valid reason or money and sent an adverse report. After training I was immediately posted to Pune and during my ‘bench’ days, I wasn’t given any leaves. So, the adverse report sent to the passport office became a problem and I was asked to justify. I need to mention here that during 2007, the nearest city to my hometown which had a passport office was Trichy. My file had a reference to Trichy although I applied at Tirunelveli. I spent my bench days in Pune, unable to report to the Trichy passport office. After a while, I got a project, and my manager told me – “You just have joined the project, you cannot avail any leaves”! Ok. I need to wait. I waited and the opportunity came next April (April 2008). I was there at Trichy passport office and provided them a valid reason for me being not present at Tirunelveli during the police verification. They understood the reason submitted and offered a transfer of file to the Pune passport office so I could still, provide an address proof in Pune and get things done. I accepted and asked them to transfer the file to Pune.

May 2008, file received at Pune. I was given a new reference number for Pune City. That makes my 2^nd application. I now need to submit an address proof in Pune which I don’t have. I tried a lot and finally took the statement from the ICICI Bank where I have the Infosys Salary account. Luckily, I changed the address on it (from Mysore to Pune) after I changed my room. I am in Pune (present tense) from August 2007. But, I switched two rooms in the meanwhile. From August 2007 to February 2008, I was rented in a different house and from thereon, from March 2008, I stayed in a single room. Trouble again started as I submitted my present address (where I live from March 2008). The file received in Pune – they asked me to submit some personal particular forms which I did and after that, there was police verification. The verification came during November 2008. Unless the verification that happens in Tamil Nadu where the Police come to your home and verifies if you’re there are not, Pune had a different strategy. They call you to the Police station and you just submit the proof (a copy of what you already did in the passport office) and fill-in a form. I was called there and I submitted my proof (along with Rs. 300 bribe). When I was asked to fill-in the form, there was a column where I need to mention how long I’m staying in the present address. I’m in Pune from August 2007, but on the present address, I’m from March 2008. That makes only 9 months (March 2008 to November 2008) on the present address. I filled-in that way and told the police men that I’m in Pune over a year and I used to stay at a different place earlier. I don’t know if he understood what I told him (language problem… I don’t know Hindi much!) But he said “OK” all the time. My second mistake. He’s not going to verify if I’m there for just 9 months. I should have written that as 1.5 years.

Ok, the police verification was over – now I just need to wait for the passport to come. Unless Tamil Nadu where you get a letter to your address if there’s any discrepancy on your passport or if they need any document/ proofs, Pune again, had a different strategy. They just update your status on the passport status page and wait for you to turn back. I did not check the status of my passport at all; thinking that the passport might come anytime. Something happened in my project and my manager came to me one day and asked me “Where is your passport?” Well, I’m waiting for one. He said, get it done quickly or else you’ll be kicked out. So, I searched for the status of my application and found that the file was closed. What the hell? I then took a screenshot of that page, took a printout and went straight to the Enquiry at passport office, Pune. I was given an appointment to meet the passport officer. It was November 2009, one year after the police verification. Was it my fault that I did not check the status regularly or was it their fault since they did not send me any letters (to my present or permanent address) asking for clarification? I don’t know whose fault it was, but the impact was on me. The passport officer told me, you should apply a new one because at the time of verification you were not completed one year on your present address.

I told this to my manager and he granted me leaves immediately and asked me to go to my hometown and apply a fresh one with ‘Tatkal’ Scheme. I had leaves, ok, but I did not have money to travel to my hometown, Tirunelveli. So I said some lame excuses, waited for the month to over and traveled to my hometown during December 2009. I caught an agent, tried applying via Tatkal Schema and he said since I’ve applied for the passport previously, I’ll have to submit some more forms and No-Objection-Certificate from the local police to submit passport via Tatkal Scheme. I had to apply normally, but I was told that the process is quick nowadays. Yes, it’s been years since I first applied my passport. By this time, the nearest city to my hometown which had a passport office was Madurai. I applied at my hometown, my 3^rd ever application and it had a reference to Madurai. This time I went to the nearest police station and told them my situation and they accepted to ‘pass’ it on. Anyone who applied passport before knows that there’s a column in the form where it asks – “Have you applied for passport before, if so, reference number”. I thought of cheating, but then realized the trouble I went through. Why take risk – let’s just provide them. I provided the Pune file reference number and submitted the form. The police verification was clear. I need to mention here that the service provided my Tamil Nadu passport office was extremely good when compared to Pune. I got a message in my mobile as soon as I applied for the passport with my file reference number. After the verification, I got a message stating that my verification was clear and the application is in process. 1 week passed by and then I got a message that since you’re working in Pune, you need to submit an address proof for verification. My father called me and told me that I even got a letter from the passport office about the same. So, I sent the address proofs and stuffs to the passport office, Madurai immediately as they mentioned “failing to send these documents within a month will reflect in the closure of your file”.

Although my proofs reached the passport office on time, the file was closed after a month. I emailed the regional passport officer, Madurai for the reason. He replied (after two emails) that since I work in Pune, I should apply for the passport in Pune only. God, why don’t you guys just tell me when I apply? So, that’s my 3^rd ever application closed. Back to pavilion – I applied a fresh one again in Pune, the 4^th. I mentioned my last application (Madurai) as the previous application in that form and enclosed the reason why it was closed. I submitted the file on 21^st May 2010. Unlike Madurai (where the process of applying until the closure happened from January 2010 to March 2010), Pune is very slow in processing passports. The police verification came during August and it was clear. As usual, I was called in, asked to fill-in the form and then submit proofs. By this time, I’m well aware of the process of passport! I submitted all the proofs, mentioned the time-frame from when I’m living in the current address and stuffs. I also gave the usual bribe, Rs. 300 to the policemen. This time, I checked the status of my application in the status page everyday. I don’t want to take risks. After a week, the status of the page was updated to show “Police verification is clear and your application is in process”.

At-last! I waited for another week and the status changed again to show “Your passport will be dispatched by 30^th August 2010. Subject to all documents being in order”. Yee-haw! Hold on, the story is not yet over. I waited until 31^st August and checked the status. It now showed “Your application is in process”. What the hell? Ok, perhaps the dispatching takes time. I waited for about a month and till then, no change in the status. As usual, I received no letters from the passport office. I emailed the passport officer, Pune about the status (at-least 10 times) with no response. I took a screenshot of the status page, printed that and went to the Enquiry. The person over there gave me an appointment to meet the assistant passport officer. I met her and asked her about the status of my application. She checked something and told me since you’ve applied for passport many times (4 times); it’ll take time for us to verify stuffs. She then took my mobile number and promised to give a call the next day. I didn’t receive any calls for the next 1 week. I then re-visited the passport office enquiry (you cannot directly meet the passport officer/ assistant passport officer. You’ll need to wait a mile-long queue for enquiry and get an appointment for the same day. The sooner you go, the faster you get). Same appointment, same assistant passport officer. This time she asked me to wait for sometime (The appointment was at 10:30 AM). I waited until all the other applicants left the passport office and I was called in at around 2PM.

When I stepped into the room of the assistant passport officer, the first question that was thrown at me was “How many times have you applied for the passport and how many passports do you have?” I was taken aback. Why in the earth would I wait for more-than-three-hours if I already have a passport? I controlled myself and told her that I do not have any passport and I’m here to explain why I applied so many times. I have never seen such a worst lady in my life time. Whenever I tried to talk about my first application at Trichy, she’ll ask me a question. I’ll tell her that the answer to her question is on the next word that I’m about to speak. Even then, there was no control. She used to ask stupid questions as if I have committed a murder and refusing it. It was almost 2:30 PM and she walked out of her room as I talk. She told me – come back again with an appointment and tell me your entire story. I decided that I’m never going to get my passport. I came back to my room, frustrated and literally wanted to kill someone.

After a week, I decided to give a final try and stop chasing my passport. I prepared a very long letter to the passport officer that explained all the stuffs that I’ve done during April 2007 to till date (like the summary of this story). This time as soon as the assistant passport officer saw me, she wrote something on the appointment and sent me to meet the passport officer as if she’s done with me or “I cannot talk to you anymore”. I met the passport officer, submitted the big-letter that I typed. He read the letter and again, wrote something on my appointment. I thought he’s going to send me again to meet that lady! Oh god! He asked me “Why you did not submit these reasons before?” I told him, I had submitted whatever the reason I had with the application (for the file opened in Madurai, my previous application). I also told him that I did not know if I should submit reason for all the applications that I applied before. He showed me a face that looked like he accepted whatever I said. I was asked to wait outside the room. I waited for about an hour and then a person came out of the passport officer’s room and called my name. I went to him and he said “You can go, it’ll come.” (Aap jaasakthe hein, aajayengi). I didn’t know how many percentages of those words were true. But then, I didn’t question him. I just walked away, thanking him.

Two days later, I checked the status of my passport and it said that my passport has been granted and will be dispatched within a week’s time. I was happy and then immediately, I became sad. One week from that date, I’ll be at Chennai. I planned my Diwali holidays from 3^rd of November until 15^th. The status page then changed on 28^th October that the passport will be dispatched on 10^th of November. I understood that I’ll not be here in Pune to collect my passport. I need to either cancel my leaves and celebrate my 4^th consecutive Diwali in Pune or, just go on and make more confusion in my passport. Strangely, I decided the 2^nd way. I went to Chennai as planned and before that, I issued an “authorization letter” to my roomies that they’re authorized to collect the passport on my behalf. I also told them to give money to the post man if needed.

During my vacation I checked the status of my application and found that the passport was dispatched on 4^th of November, instead of 10^th November. Oh, early! So, I decided to call my roomies and update them about the change. When I called them on Monday, 8^th of November, they told me that they’ve received the passport. I could have asked him to repeat those words at-least 10 times. I also pinched myself that I’m not in dream. All it took was Rs. 100 for the post man to give my passport to my roomie. The authorization letter did not work!

Extra Bits:

1. My friend, who applied along with me (Sethu) during April 2007, got the passport on July 2007.
2. Friends who joined with me at Infosys didn’t have passports. They took leave (1 week) and returned with a passport.
3. The roughest estimate of money that I spent for passport would be more than 50,000.
4. Looking at my passport application history, one might feel that I tried to cheat. My first application (applied at my hometown) had a reference to Trichy city. Second application had a reference to Pune. Third application (although I did at my hometown) had a reference to Madurai. So people might think that “this fellow applied for passport 3 times in 3 different cities!”
5. I had some friends who kept on nagging me about my passport chasings. They also suggested me writing a story about this. I told them I will as soon as I get my passport.
6. The nightmares continued even after I got the passport (when I was in Chennai). I had dreams in which the passport was damaged. My name was spelled wrongly; my photo looked like somebody cut that until neck and pasted a new one.

A Start

Starting off my blog today. Today is Pongal aka Maharasankaranthi.