5) Finally:

On a Friday evening I got a post card from the Borivali-West post office asking me to collect my registered post. Next day morning I went to the post office. Showed them the post card they have sent and my identity card.

I could see from distance when she picked up the cover that the letter was from passport office. My heart started telling “ thank god, unbelievable, my passport, finally, etc ”, but I was warning myself that this may even be yet another letter from them asking me to come and meet them.

When I opened the letter, there it was.

God!!! My Passport, My Passport. I felt like hugging my passport and crying ;-)

The funniest part is my passport didn’t have the ECNR stamp (because of which I waited till I got my degree certificate and applied in Mumbai). Anyway who else might have had such a wonderful time with Mumbai Police & Passport officials.

Don’t think my struggle was over just with my passport. Will post soon about my ECNR story…..

4) Heart Broken:

Finally I could meet the passport officer with that letter given by the company, but it made no difference. He said unless the report comes from Trichy nothing can be done. This irritated me so much. Why do all these things happen only to me? Went to meet the agent immediately after the meeting with passport officer as his office was in the same building as that of passport office. To add the fuel, he said what the passport officer has said is very strange and he (agent) can’t help me as there was a new rule against the agents in passport office.

Hmmmmmm….Tears were already in my cheeks. I was hurt like no one else had even been. I was so tired and fed of this game (running here and there for nothing). I was in a position where I can no longer meet any people or visit any offices regarding this passport.

I felt like making another application at Trichy passport office, but as that was against the government rules I gave up that idea. But my roommate went to TamilNadu and came back in a week with a “Takkal Passport” in her hand (though she had made an application at Mumbai as well).All my roommates have the passports now except me. I had a feeling that I will never get my passport and I can never go outside India. I did nothing about this passport for next one month.

But something happened…………..

3) Address Verification (Trichy):

Ooops , again a letter from a Commisoner of Police office this means that my file is still with them and not moved to passport office yet. This saddened me a lot. The feeling of going to COP office in VT was horrible.

Finally I went there (had no choice). This time the news was that they had not received a police report yet from Trichy,Tamilnadu. As I haven’t lived in Mumbai for more than two years they need to verifiy my old address as well. (they torture innocent people like me and issue passports happily to all kind of terrosits, funny)…..

I can’t go to Trichy as it is 36hours by train from Mumbai and also I just came back from my vacation. My father’s turn now. He visited our Srirangam police station two-three times and finally the police man came home in a Motorcycle to verify whether I lived there and he decently asked my mom money for his petrol charges and Xerox charges. Thank god, atleast he asked for it means he will move it. And he did it.

My roommates who applied for passport two months after my application through the very same agent and company got their passports without any hassles. This really lowered my morale.

Even after a month my reports didn’t reach Mumbai. My father this time visited a “the head police office” somewhere far from Trichy. Even my sister and BIL went to try their luck.

meantime, my company gave me a letter to the passport officer stating that I need to visit a client in U.S etc….and asking them to treat my passport file with high priority. This standard letter from my company had a good impact on most of the people's application.

But the period I went with this letter to the passport office was wrong. One of a Muslim's duties, as described in the Five Pillars of Islam, is to go on a Hajj at least once during his or her lifetime. This is a pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) in Saudi Arabia. Which means they all need passport to go there and the only one month was there so everyone where rushing behind their passport. Can you believe that i got into a Stampede (had a feeling on that day as if i was already in Mecca) that too inside the passport office?

Another funniest part is the passport office opens at 9.30am but people start lining up from 8am (the line goes till 2-3 streets) just to enter inside the office. If you are late for this queue you can’t get inside the office.

I think my roommates might have got a feeling, that I was doing some parttime job at passport office as
1) i was getting up at 6am (which i hate to do)
2) going to Borivali Train station by bus
3) took a train till Dadar
4) and from Dadar a shared Taxi to passport office.

I did this continously for a week. One day when I was waiting for the share Taxi , one lady all of the sudden came and put “kumkum” on my forehead b4 i could resist her and told me that whatever you for will succed and asked for money(good begging technique). As I was too hurt and tired of this passport game, I felt that as a good omen and gave her 10Rs. That’s what I know. Like a flash there were five ladies with plates and all put “kumkum” one after another on my forehead and all asked for money. I ended up spending totally 50Rs that day on them.

But nothing worked. What did i do next ? coming soon…..

my trains trips from Borivali - VT, Dadar

peak-hour mumbai train by which i travelled variuos times to Passport office and Commisoner of Police office...

b4 getting into the train , everytime i prepare myself mentally and physically (to get courage) to travel...though they have a First class ladies compartment, doesnt make much difference except the nice perfume smell around..

once i took my originals along and i tried getting down at Dadar (passport office) as my files bag got stuck inide the crowd, i travelled till the terminus (churchgate) and took another(opposite direction - so the crowd is less) train and came back......

2) Address Verification (Mumbai) :

I was told that my passport application might be rejected as they did not receive a report (which confirms that i live in the given address) from the police station near the place where i live. They suggested me to visit the police station and find the status.

Next day I went to “Borivali East” (the place where I lived) police station (that was the first time I to a police station in my life). Met the man in charge of address verification. We had trobule communicating with each other, as he couldn’t speak Hindi as well English(he knew only Marathi) and me not a single word in Marathi and a lady constable helped us (by acting as interpreter for 2-3 mins).

Without even asking my details (like my file number,date of my application, my name,address) he said that they haven't received my file. This annoyed me as he wasn’t a database and he can’t give such answers just by looking at my face. And another thing is I look very horrible with a front haircut in the photo I had given for the passport application. So, I insisted him to check the files. He refused to do so. Then, I went to the complaints officer of that police station and launched a complaint against him. After that he flipped all the 200 paper based files in 10mins (like a super human) without even looking at the files, he was mainly occupied in scolding me (luckily I didn’t knew Marathi ;-) ) and finally the answer from him was again the same.

I went to Commissioner of Police office again (Victoria Terminus). This time I took an off-peak hour train and it made a real difference. They told me that my file was sent to “Borivali – West” not “East”. I felt bad for the complaint i made against that police man (as it was his life and job) though he deserved it.

Again a visit to police station, but this time aother one (Borivali - West) and couldn’t meet the police incharge of address verification for 3-4 days. Finally I met him one evening and he was a nice gentle man (though he doesn't come to work weelky 2-3 days ;-) ) . He looked into his log book and located my file number. Surprise ;-) . As he felt my house is more close to Virar Police Station , he forwarded it there. Wow !!! I need to visit yet another police station. Great !!

One fine evening I hired an Auto and went to the Virar police station (though they said that this police station was near my house, i saw those roads for the first time). The station looked like a “Booth Bangalaw”. I lost all my hopes of finding my file there.

The man in-charge then opened a very old dusted trunk box which had and guess what my file WAS there. I guess they assumed that I might never go in there in search of it and put the file in that unused Box, but I did go ;-) They made me to run around for a week asking all the unnessary docuements. Actually, later i came to know that without bribing them they don’t clear the file. I guess , as I was a female and to top it I didn’t know their local language fluently so they hesistated to askthe money explicitly and I didn’t have a clue also that they might except money from me to pass this file further.

As they didn’t like me visiting them everyday asking about the file status, finally they cleared my file and forwarded it to the Commisoner of Police office and I visited COP office again and they confirmed me that they have received the file from Virar police station and they also assured me that they will pass the file to passport office in Dadar,Mumbai . I was happy that the headache with this passport was over and again made a stupid assumption they will issue a passport for me and I happily went on a month’s vacation to my hometown.

When I came back from, I had a another letter from the SAME COP office.... Details Soon………

1) Passport Application and COP office

The Beginning:Passport Application and Commisoner of Police office in Mumbai

Someone back in my college told me that one need to get ECNR stamp in the passport to visit some of the countries and a degree certificate is required to do so.

some reference about ECNR:
All Indian passports are divided into two categories as follows :
Passports with endorsement : "Emigration Check Required" (ECR)
Passports with endorsement : "Emigration Check Not Required" (ECNR)
The Indian passport holders who have the stamp of ECR, are required to get emigration clearance from Protector of Emigrants if going out to any country except Pakistan, Bangladesh, European countries (excluding CIS countries), all countries of North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and South Africa.
Indian passport holders who have the stamp of ECNR, do not require to take any emigration clearance from POE for going to any country.

So , when my father asked me to apply for the passport at my hometown(Trichy) when i was in my last year of Engineering , i refused to do so due to my laziness (for which i regretted a hell lot) applying for ECNR later might be an addtional work later.

Finally i got my degree certificate a year later when i was in Mumbai(from where i applied for my passport). Note that Mumbai is 36 hours by train from Trichy.

One fine morning i sucessfully submitted my application for the passport. Here started the drama. I assumed that everything will go smooth as the application was made through one of the prestigous companies in India.

To my surprise , two months later i received a letter from the "Commisoner of Police" office in Mumbai asking me to meet them regarding the passport. I travelled to the other end of Mumbai in a crowded train (i would better describe it as a magic ride in some special vehicle where you are automatically pushed into and outof train by people around you). The roads i travelled to find the office with my broken Hindi makes another different story ;-)

the news i got from police men is coming soon..........