My date with the RPO-1

Well, here goes my account of how i lost my accumulated leave on something that is nothing but a nightmare!!

yday had been to the Regional Passport Office(RPO) to apply for a passport for jeetu. I had filled the form online and was pretty much sure that i had all the necessary papers. I had applied it in tatkaal, thinking it would be a hassle- free process!! how wrong i was!! the day started like this- i take my son to my parents' place to leave him with them while i stand in the sweltering hot sun to submit the application; but turned out that he too was destined to visit the RPO. After getting jeetu' s thumb impression on all the annexures, i am almost ready to go, when i decide to call my friend to check if the minor applicant is also required at the office. She cautions me to take him along just in case the PO decides to meet my son. So in the next few mins, my mom dresses him up while i pack his things(diaper, water etc etc). and who else but my mom to babysit him while i wait for my turn? so she too gets ready in a hurry and we are off to the office in an auto. on arrival, the auto drives makes a very casual remark "passport office ku poi ivalo late aa vareenga? inge ella morning 7 o' clock vandhu q la nikkanum ma"- tat comment was enuf to trigger my anxiety. but my application stated that my appt( or so its called) was at 11 15 am and we were there by arnd 10 30. i decided to pardon the auto driver for his ignorance (how stupid of me). we arrive at the first floor and are told to wait in the queue meant for tatkaal applications..we patiently wait for sometime. suddenly my mom raises this doubt" DD aa cash aa?" i confidently reply"cash" amma: "but all arnd ppl are carrying DD. so better check".- another call to the trusted friend and turned out that they accept only DDs for tatkaal applications!! off i run to the nearest bank and to my luck, another queue to get a DD!! managed to return in 15 mins and thankfully, the queue hadnt moved much..we continue our wait.. we reach the next floor by arnd 12 15. the security at the entrance looks at my application and asks "minor applicant aa madam?" i say a yes with some trepidation and he cooly replies " there is a separate queue for senior citizens and minor applicants madam. you should have come here. counter closed". i try to explain that i was not aware of such a thing and there was no notice anywhere informing the same and he replies in that same self assured tone " ground floor la board irukku madam..poi parunga..come tomorrow morning at 8 30. you wil be the first". amma and i try to stand there pretending not to hear his last comment and desperately try to figure out a way to join the queue. amma, in the meanwhile, calls one of her friends who happens to work there to see if she can help us and to our immense luck, she is on leave and resting at home!! :( after some 10 mins, we decide to return the next day at crack of dawn so that this whole thing can be wrapped up and forgotten!! how i wish!!

j