The Bus Conductor Tries to Cheat You...

I dropped off Jenna at the Indra Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi at around 11:00pm. When she confirmed that she got through the check in and immigration, I set my course towards Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi to catch a bus to Jaipur.
The best option was the DTC Bus which runs from International Airport to Domestic Airport and drives by Dhaula Kuan as it heads for ISBT (Inter State Bus Terminal).
I was the first one to enter the bus. I asked the driver, when was the bus going to start moving and what was the fair. He told me I had to wait until 11:30pm before the bus starts and the bus fair is Rs.50/-. It was Rs.50/- for anywhere except Domestic Airport for which the fair was Rs.25/-.
When the ticket collector started giving the tickets, I was on a phone call and I gave him 50 bucks. He returned me Rs.25/- back but didn't give me the ticket. I got an idea what was going on his mind. If he doesn't give me the ticket, those 25 bucks goes to his pocket and I only have to pay for half the ticket. And it was midnight, so there were hardly any chances that some senior authority would come in for checking for tickets.

And I truly believe,

I want either less Corruption... Or more opportunity to participate in it!!

So I let it be. But then we reached Domestic airport. The conductor started calling for people who were getting off at Domestic Airport. The driver turns around and asked me, "You're getting off at Dhaula Kuan (which was the next station) right?" I answered yes and the conductor heard our conversation. He looks at me and said, "How much did u pay earlier?" I told him I paid 25 and slowly told him that I didn't get the ticket. Driver tells him that he told me earlier that the ticket was for Rs.50/-. So I took out other 25 when the conductor started collecting the fair again. I was sitting in the very front of the bus with the money in my hand bus he didn't ask me for it and moved on. So I thought he was smart. But he wasn't after a while he specially came back for me and asked me for rest of the money. I gave it to him. But I had no intentions to let him have all the money without giving me the ticket. As I said, I want either less Corruption or more opportunity to participate in it. I asked him for the ticket and told him he hadn't giving me one earlier either. He said okay and went to the front. After a while he came back to return someone's change. I asked him again about the tickets. He said he'll give it to me and didn't give it to me AGAIN!! Now this was pissing me off.

Now I'm a very peaceful kind and liberal kind of a person. So I let people do anything they are up to as long it doesn't harm me. But this isn't one of those days. I decided I wanted no corruption in this case. 5mins before my station came, I went and stood after him. There was another guy standing in between me and the conductor. I tapped the conductor on the shoulder and asked him for the ticket. He tells me its okay and I don't need one anymore. He almost made me laugh and I couldn't believe I was doing this caz usually I let it go. But I move forward a lil and asked him clearly while the other passenger was listening, "So is ALL the money going in your pocket?" He didn't reply to it and just ignored me. And I don't like being ignored. So I asked him again while the bus was already slowly down for my station, "Are you going to give the ticket or..."

Before I could even complete my sentence, he turned around and gave me the ticket for Rs.50/- and gave me a dirty look as if I robbed him on gun point!! LoL!! I took the tickets as I was getting off the bus. I got off, turned around, look right into his eyes with a smile and tore the ticket right in front of him n threw it away. And his expression was like he got slapped right in the face. LMAO!! And I slowly walked into the other direction as the bus moved on.

It takes you 4hrs to submit a passport renewal form...

I reached the Jaipur Passport Office 9:30am in the morning and joined the line. By the time I got my turn after spending all the time outside in the heat, it was 11:30pm. The guy named K.M.Meena checked my document. Now, he is one of the most rude and misbehaving government official I have met lately. He told me to get an affidavit made which was required to get my passport renewed. As I haven't really dealt with any sort of legal documentation, I curiously asked him how and where is it made. He was going thru other guy's documents now and he literally kept his docs back on the table and looked right at me and in his most rudest tone said, "What makes you think I'll tell you about the details?" and asked me to leave. I swear to god I almost spit in his face. I went running and got the affidavit made from about a kilometer away from the office. I got back 12.00noon. There was still a line of about a hundred people. There was no point of me standing in the end as I got all the documents checked and I just had to show him the new document. So I went upto him and showed him that. The rude bastard tells me, "Who asked you to cut thru the line and stand in front?" I almost pissed on him after he said this. But I controlled the emotions. I stood at the end of the line again and waited for another 30mins before I could get my documents checked. When I got my turn, I let one of the person you had his docs checked, he just got there for rechecking. When he got done, I told K.M.Meena that the other guy cut the line but you didn't do anything about it. He said I should have told him about it. To which I replied, "I didn't have anything against him sir and its fair to cut the line if you have already got your docs checked once or else its really rude of you to make the person stand in the end of the line." That shut him up and he easily approved my document. The moment he gave me my documents back, I asked him quite sarcastically and straight forward, "What's your full name?" He thought something is wrong and I might be from media or something or I must have some contacts that could put him in trouble. He didn't reply me the first time and tried to ignore me. So I said, "You didn't tell me your name." He very politely (unlike his normal rude tone) said K.M.Meena. And I very sarcastically replied, "Meena! Okay." FYI: Meena are scheduled caste people in India who have a lot of reservations for government job under SC (schedule caste)/ST (Scd tribe)/OBC (Other Backward Classes) Quota. That put him in his place and I left happily from there.

Contrary to this, the other official on the other counter who submitted my form was really polite and helpful. So in the end of the day, I finally submitted my form in one day. I have heard it sometimes takes a couple of few days to go thru these Indian Government Offices. I think it wasn't too bad in the end but the government employees in this country need to learn to be more polite.

The Government Offices Mess with Your Important Mails...

I had my Medical Examination on 31st March 2010 at Air Force Station, Agra. For that I needed to have an important document from DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), New Delhi, called the NOC (No Objection Certificate). They were supposed to post it to me about a week before my date, but I'm not surprised they didn't, because this is how things work in Indian Government Offices. I should have know this and should have gone to their office a lil earlier than I did.

But I did inquire about the NOC about 10days before my Medical Date and I was told that the NOC had been mailed already. But I still hadn't got it until 26th March which was Friday and offices are closed on Saturday and Sunday and my medical was on Wednesday. If I haven't mentioned earlier, I was in Jaipur back then which is 250Kms or 6 hours away from Delhi.

So at the last moment I had to plan a trip to Delhi to inquire about my NOC without which my medical was not possible in Agra (another 200kms away) and the medical dates weren't available that easily and 31 March was my only option. On 28th evening I left for Delhi in a bus and reached there on 29th early morning. I got busy on 29th and couldn't go to the DGCA office to inquire about my NOC. So I just had the last chance that was 30th and if I didn't get my NOC, I would've had to cancel my appointment and get another date which wouldn't have been available before June. I had no intentions to waste 2 months like that.

I reached the DGCA office on 30th morning. But I was told to wait there until 3pm as no one is allowed to go inside before that. BULLSHIT!! Anyways, I waited there as I had no other option. At 3pm, they let me inside. I went to the respective office and asked them why I didn't get my NOC. They showed me their register and said that the NOC had been posted to my home address and something must have gone wrong with the postal service. I inquired them if I could get a duplicate copy but I was told they don't keep a copy and to get a new NOC I'll have to wait for 3days. BULLSHITx2!! I told them my medical was the next day and it was their fault and I needed the NOC the same day. They asked me to wait in the waiting room.

After about 15mins one of the employees there asked me to go visit another room where there was heaps and stacks of files all around. I asked them if they knew anything about the NOC. They told me they had sent it to the third room from where the letters are posted to their respective destinations. I enter this small room which looked like a small hut kind of a thing where a poor lower class family would reside. To add to the appearance, the had broken cupboards like the one, a below poverty line family would own. This was like the tenth guy I was dealing with and telling the complete story over and over again that I had my medical tomorrow morning at Agra and I needed the NOC. They looked into the broken cupboards for a while and FINALLY found out my NOC with them.

I was happy and relieved that got what I was looking for. But my only question was:

"Why the hell did they put an entry in their register that the NOC had been posted when it WASN'T?"