Oh no, will I have to stay put in Hindupur??

November 8, 2010

Today turned out to become a very important day even though we didn't know that this morning. Being strictly law-observing individuals Kalyan and I set out to give the to-do 'registering Wiebke with the Foreign Registry Office' a tick within the 14-day period as is the rule. Now we have to do this in the capital city of Andhra Pradesh, in Anantapur. Anantapur is only some 120 km away but it still takes some 2 hrs to get there by car. The road is pretty good for local standards once out of town. Yet it's one of the most accident prone roadways and I couldn't quite get why that is. Just around half way we came by a terrible accident where a bus had crashed into a truck - fully frontal with the first few rows of seats fully immersed in the truck. I wonder how many lives that carelessness has cost, if it was carelessness. Cars and busses, rickshaws and motor bikes pass and overtake each other so fast and cutting each other so close, I've held my breath my good share of times already in the past week. Sometimes you wouldn't even be able to pass a credit card between them but somehow they always seem to find just the right twist and angle to get by.

But back to business. So, we arrived in Anantapur and found the FRO after being sent to the wrong place only once. The responsible Officer was very friendly and explained the 101 things we had to lodge. Four (4!!!) passport photos, a copy of my passport and visa, pretty much the entire list of certificates and letters of InteGreater Foundation one could think of, my work contract and just one form to be filled out by me. The form was to be completed four-fold, 2x with a real carbon-copy between them and the same exercise again for 2x more. Whilst going about that, the officer told us very friendly but as a matter of fact that my visa was good for work with InteGreater (yes!!) but that I wasn't allowed to be at any other place than Hindupur.

What???? Hang on a second. The job for which I was employed is a research journey through all states of India and I'm only allowed to be in Hindupur??? How did that happen? Would I have gotten a tourist visa, I could roam around freely but not work. With an employment visa I've got the appropriate visa for volunteering but I'm not allowed to move. The officer cited some laws and that he'd take his job very serious. He'd be responsible if I was to do anything unlawful and how would he check that if I wasn't in one place??? Right… How the heck do you do the right thing in this country. Well, I kind of do remember quite a few instances where I asked myself the same question in Germany too. So, maybe it's a question of bureaucracy and left not knowing what the right is doing and the likes. I don't know.

We left gobsmacked but of course, Kalyan wouldn't show any despair. He shouted a really nice lunch with yummy butter rotis, cashew nut curry and Alu Gobi. We got my set of 8 passport photos within 3-4 minutes for only 40 rupees, i.e. 5 rupees a piece. That's not even 10 Euro Cents per photo and the came out really nice too. As a matter of fact, I think this was by far the best service I've ever had in India up to this day. Super fast, super friendly and dirt cheap. Luckily we also had our laptops on us, so the printing of all the documentation was a piece of cake too. Back to the FRO - in the meantime it was 3pm. Mr. FRO took the whole pile of documents - he didn't smile anymore - and sent us away with a dry 'I'll get back to you'. Hmm…

I'm communicating non-stop with my angels since we left the office. The universe will provide. I've gotten all the way till here and I've done so abiding with all laws - in Germany as well as in India. So let's hope I'm not suddenly becoming the coordinator of ProtoVillage instead of The Glass Half Full. Anyone out there with connections to the universe? Or the A.P. government? Please let me know... Hahaha...

For today, I hope surprise time is over. Give me something to smile, I think to myself as we drive back and promptly, the universe delivers. We're back at the little cabin where they collect the highway toll. The driver pays, one officer takes the money, a second one makes out the receipt and four (4!!!!) others note down the receipt number that the guard is shouting across to them. Wohow, that's what I love about India. Every little service creates employment for a fine bunch of people!!