And the clock struck 13...Well, actually it struck 0630! I got up with a start. For a good long time, the head didn't clear...Ever got up in the morning with a heavy head and all the other symptoms of a horrible hang over? Couple with that with the fact that you haven't had a single drop of alcohol? If you have, you know exactly what I am talking about! If you don't, you are one lucky loser!
Much like the un-correlated and crazy thoughts that I have right now, I was in a daze in the morning. It took me a while to realise the reason why I was awake. It was Interview time!
A sentence that would make my boss and the HR guys sit up and take notice. Well, it was an interview of a different variety.
With all these thoughts in the mind, I forgot the task at hand. I had to look presentable for the US visa interview! Within seconds of brushing my teeth, I heard the bell ring! It was the chauffeur! And I wasn't even ready! Thereafter everything was a splash and dash!
Moral #1 - If it weren't for the 11th hour, nothing would get done!
Soon we were speeding down the highway...me going over the documents for the last time...yet again!
It wasn't nerves and anxiety as much as it was the picture of a sailor-devouring Scylla that the interview was made out to be. There was a lot of inputs from various schools of thought as to how the interview should be 'cracked'! While the information was great and the intentions very noble, it built a certain level of doubt in your mind!
It was quite a dampener! Lincoln House, Consulate of the United States of America...The hegemonic super power of the world! I expected something better than the impending edifice. Guess that the city of Mumbai is a great leveler in more ways than one! The car had dropped me at the consulate in no time and I was a bit too early. I decided to scout the area and bide my time in the process.
The first thing that struck me was the enterprising attitude of people near the embassy. People seem to make money out of just about anything! There was a guy selling polythene bags at 10 INR a piece...a cool 900% profit! And guess what? people were buying! There were people selling pens as well. Didnt bother calculating the Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) on his earnings. The thing that took the cake by a mile was that of the people standing near the consulate offering to act as human mobile lockers for anyone who had dared to get items which were on the prohibited list. Besides the usual suspects, some of the things included digital watches and car remotes. Sounds like a sound business with lot of growth oppportunities.
Moral #2 - Money can be made out of absolutely nothing in a perfectly legal way!
It was finally time to stand in the line! With the blazer and the works (on a Emergency business visa, I had to look formal!), I stood in the queue. Things were hotting up! Well, in reality it was the blazer doing its job in the Mumbai heat. I thanked god (and the counsel lady) for having scheduled my interview early in the morning.
Struck a conversation with this guy from P & O Nedlloyd. 5 minutes into the casual talk, he was offering me gyaan...on what else?
How to crack it! :)
I shifted my gaze, attention and then conversation to this lovely lady from TCS (I didnt know that TCS had beautiful females!). Unfortunately, just when things were looking bright (No! The sun had been up long back), the consulate lady called her to enter inside. I cursed the person who came up with this chivalrous rule of allowing single ladies to jump the queue!
I resigned myself to reading the letter from the HR for the 78th time. Finding nothing new, I started talking to this other TCS guy(Does anyone in TCS work in India???) who stated proudly that he was from TCS(As though it was comparable to Google!). I thought of bringing his feet back to the ground...but then on second thoughts, decided to let it pass. Stuck between reading the letter for the 79th time and talking to Mr. TCS, I decided to do neither. Thought of observing people instead...read ALL the notices around and looked listless and stoned until Mr. TCS decided to move his attention elsewhere.
Within no time, it was time! Time to enter the lion's den! That is the kind of Anjolie Ela Menon painting that was sketched in my mind. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the famed Secret Service and CIA that one hears of. Instead, there were Indian security personnel. The security check was probably a prelude of the level of security that we were to expect in the US. Belts were out! Everything was scrutinised and frisked. Even the papers were not spared!
Moral #3 - Shit Happens! I realised that I was carrying my RSA secure-id token. For those unaware, it is a digital device that had a 6-digit display that is provides you a part of the password essential to log onto the office network. Half the size of my middle finger (used figuratvely here), it doubled up as my key chain. To my horror,i realised that I was carrying the house keys and hence the RSA secure-id in my pockets. I pleaded to god that the token be missed by the security guys. The hope was that it would be missed for its lack of conspicuousness. But as luck was to have it, it got noticed. Questions were asked and I feigned ignorance. But all my experience in Drama didn't count for much. I was asked to 'take care' of the same. This meant going out!!! If I had the time, I would have kicked myself for getting into this situation.
Moral #4 - If there is anything that can go wrong, it WILL go wrong!
I rushed outside, no escape route in sight. The chauffeur was not around and I didn't have my cell-phone to call him up! A PCO couldn't be seen around at all!
Moral #5 - When you really want something bad, chances are that it will never be in sight!
I looked for a place to stash the token. Suddenly, i remembered a place. Not a long distance away from the consulate, I found a couple of bushes. I tossed it into them, praying that I could retrieve it back. If I tell this to the people in office, there would be a gasp! Followed by an expression made famous by the Miss Universe's of the world. But in the situation that I was in, it seemed like the smartest(???) thing to do! I thought that it was better than giving it in the hands of a stranger. Atleast I had a chance to get it back! Dashed back again. To my horror, I found that I couldn't now re-enter. I had to stand in the queue again! I tried to reason with the security when I realised that it was fruitless. Hurling profanities at him (in my mind of course), I joined the queue. Luckily I got a chance to join the queue just outside. And I didnt have to go at the beginning to the queue. Phew!
I lost close to 30 minutes in the whole confusion. More so because I was pushed to the bottom of the stack....
The rest of the story in part #2
With all these thoughts in the mind, I forgot the task at hand. I had to look presentable for the US visa interview! Within seconds of brushing my teeth, I heard the bell ring! It was the chauffeur! And I wasn't even ready! Thereafter everything was a splash and dash!
Moral #1 - If it weren't for the 11th hour, nothing would get done!
Soon we were speeding down the highway...me going over the documents for the last time...yet again!
It wasn't nerves and anxiety as much as it was the picture of a sailor-devouring Scylla that the interview was made out to be. There was a lot of inputs from various schools of thought as to how the interview should be 'cracked'! While the information was great and the intentions very noble, it built a certain level of doubt in your mind!
It was quite a dampener! Lincoln House, Consulate of the United States of America...The hegemonic super power of the world! I expected something better than the impending edifice. Guess that the city of Mumbai is a great leveler in more ways than one! The car had dropped me at the consulate in no time and I was a bit too early. I decided to scout the area and bide my time in the process.
The first thing that struck me was the enterprising attitude of people near the embassy. People seem to make money out of just about anything! There was a guy selling polythene bags at 10 INR a piece...a cool 900% profit! And guess what? people were buying! There were people selling pens as well. Didnt bother calculating the Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) on his earnings. The thing that took the cake by a mile was that of the people standing near the consulate offering to act as human mobile lockers for anyone who had dared to get items which were on the prohibited list. Besides the usual suspects, some of the things included digital watches and car remotes. Sounds like a sound business with lot of growth oppportunities.
Moral #2 - Money can be made out of absolutely nothing in a perfectly legal way!
It was finally time to stand in the line! With the blazer and the works (on a Emergency business visa, I had to look formal!), I stood in the queue. Things were hotting up! Well, in reality it was the blazer doing its job in the Mumbai heat. I thanked god (and the counsel lady) for having scheduled my interview early in the morning.
Struck a conversation with this guy from P & O Nedlloyd. 5 minutes into the casual talk, he was offering me gyaan...on what else?
How to crack it! :)
I shifted my gaze, attention and then conversation to this lovely lady from TCS (I didnt know that TCS had beautiful females!). Unfortunately, just when things were looking bright (No! The sun had been up long back), the consulate lady called her to enter inside. I cursed the person who came up with this chivalrous rule of allowing single ladies to jump the queue!
I resigned myself to reading the letter from the HR for the 78th time. Finding nothing new, I started talking to this other TCS guy(Does anyone in TCS work in India???) who stated proudly that he was from TCS(As though it was comparable to Google!). I thought of bringing his feet back to the ground...but then on second thoughts, decided to let it pass. Stuck between reading the letter for the 79th time and talking to Mr. TCS, I decided to do neither. Thought of observing people instead...read ALL the notices around and looked listless and stoned until Mr. TCS decided to move his attention elsewhere.
Within no time, it was time! Time to enter the lion's den! That is the kind of Anjolie Ela Menon painting that was sketched in my mind. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the famed Secret Service and CIA that one hears of. Instead, there were Indian security personnel. The security check was probably a prelude of the level of security that we were to expect in the US. Belts were out! Everything was scrutinised and frisked. Even the papers were not spared!
Moral #3 - Shit Happens! I realised that I was carrying my RSA secure-id token. For those unaware, it is a digital device that had a 6-digit display that is provides you a part of the password essential to log onto the office network. Half the size of my middle finger (used figuratvely here), it doubled up as my key chain. To my horror,i realised that I was carrying the house keys and hence the RSA secure-id in my pockets. I pleaded to god that the token be missed by the security guys. The hope was that it would be missed for its lack of conspicuousness. But as luck was to have it, it got noticed. Questions were asked and I feigned ignorance. But all my experience in Drama didn't count for much. I was asked to 'take care' of the same. This meant going out!!! If I had the time, I would have kicked myself for getting into this situation.
Moral #4 - If there is anything that can go wrong, it WILL go wrong!
I rushed outside, no escape route in sight. The chauffeur was not around and I didn't have my cell-phone to call him up! A PCO couldn't be seen around at all!
Moral #5 - When you really want something bad, chances are that it will never be in sight!
I looked for a place to stash the token. Suddenly, i remembered a place. Not a long distance away from the consulate, I found a couple of bushes. I tossed it into them, praying that I could retrieve it back. If I tell this to the people in office, there would be a gasp! Followed by an expression made famous by the Miss Universe's of the world. But in the situation that I was in, it seemed like the smartest(???) thing to do! I thought that it was better than giving it in the hands of a stranger. Atleast I had a chance to get it back! Dashed back again. To my horror, I found that I couldn't now re-enter. I had to stand in the queue again! I tried to reason with the security when I realised that it was fruitless. Hurling profanities at him (in my mind of course), I joined the queue. Luckily I got a chance to join the queue just outside. And I didnt have to go at the beginning to the queue. Phew!
I lost close to 30 minutes in the whole confusion. More so because I was pushed to the bottom of the stack....
The rest of the story in part #2
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