India visa

As I am going to India (March-April) I have to have a visa for entry. Due to bureaucracy this is only valid for 6 months from the date of issue so I had to get it yesterday

OMG - what a lot of worry and time taken over this. I had been sent a newspaper cutting indicating that as postal applications had been stopped, all visa applications have to be done in person. There were warnings that people were q'ing all night, but still not getting a visa for travel the next day etc etc....

So .... Monday I got up at 4.45 a.m. to get the 5.30 train. Got to India House in the Aldwych, London at 7.30 and already the queue was about 500-strong - my heart sank as I walked along it, past the Indian flag to well beyond the central entrance of the imposing 19thC building, and joined the end of the Q. Even 10 minutes later, when I looked back, at least 30 people had joined the Q. To each other, we expressed doubt that we would get a visa today. The line shuffled forward a few paces every so often, I think as people left the Q, and I got colder and colder - the rising sun was not on that side of the building and the air temperature was about 4deg C! At last the doors opened at 8.30 and the line moved quickly. It split into 2, one for visas and one for Indian passport applicants.

At the bottom of the steps, officials were giving out Q cards. Mine was #626, but a kind lady gave me her spare ticket #581 later, and I was told to come back at 11.00. Two hours, and a long Starbucks coffee later (to warm me up) I decided to go back (rather than wait till 11.00). With no checking of ID or my Q-number, I was just waved through, into the tiniest basement (about 30m x 25m) , all old wood panels, high wooden counters, scuffed flooring, a bedlam of noise and foreign tongues.

There was no-one there to explain what to do, but by talking to both British and Indian people, I worked out we had to watch the number ticker, the associated counter number and then leap forward to ensure that your number was not missed and the official would go onto another person! I sat down when the numbers were at 280!

I watched the officials - one was a miserable guy, around 35-ish, full of his own importance and shouting and gesticulating to the poor applicants on our side of the glass, rejecting their forms if anything was wrong, rejecting official paperwork if it suited him, and sending the applicant on their way to the enquiries counter (a tiny 2ft square hatch around which at least 10 people crowded at one time). The other female official at counter 4 was quiet, and just would not engage in conversation - just did her job, and it must have hurt to crack her face into a smile. I got her at 12.30 pm and the actual processing of the form took about 2 minutes! All that waiting and worry for 2 minutes work! But this was not the end of it.

My passport was taken away and whisked into a back room somewhere. I then had to go along to Window 7 and stand, crushed by many people much taller than me, waiting for the passport to come back again. The young, very pretty girl behind the glass spoke into a microphone to call out numbers totally at random, according to how quickly the passport had had its visa attached to it. So we went from 626 to 230 to 524 to ... 581 at last

While waiting there, I heard behind me a very posh voice "oh I can't believe how disorganised this all is, it's a total disgrace, something should be done". Someone turned round to her and said "This is India - it will be much the same when you get there" and I agreed that anyone travelling to India (and even doing the preparations) should have an open mind on it and not expect services like we are used to.

Anyhow, only a 10 minute wait and my number 581 was called - yeeeaaahhh I had got the visa. A computerised page stuck into the passport, with a round green stamp, which gets me in and out for 6 months on multiple entries. I was so relieved .... and really tired! It was now 12.50 and I extricated myself from the basement and out into the fresh air.

Such is Indian bureaucracy .... anticipating the visit is exciting and I can't wait to get going.