Fishing out the proverbial to-do task list, I noticed that the next task was 'Do Aadhar Enrollment'. This is the task that I have been successfully putting off since past one and a half years. But no more postponing. I took a deep breath and searched on the net. Lady Luck must be smiling because I found 3-4 locations in the vicinity of where I stay. I chose the nearest one and dialed the number mentioned on the site.
A lady answered. 'Hi, your name is mentioned on the Aadhar site' I told her what she, presumably, already knew.
'Yes' she replied stoically. She must be getting many calls with similar opening lines.
'Can you please tell me what documents I need to bring?' I asked, almost expecting her to reply with a stern 'all the information is on the site'.
'An identity proof and an address proof' she spoke calmly. Some lucky ones are endowed with an almost superhuman patience.
'No photo is needed?' I asked feeling mightily relieved. My supply of my own photos was at an all-time low inventory.
'No'
'Do I need to take an appointment or can I just walk in?' I fired the last salvo and prayed that she wasn't already at the end of her tethers.
'You can walk in' the words were music to my ears. I thanked her profusely and hung up.
2-3 days later I walked into the enrollment center. Being a municipality school, it was overflowing with children in various degrees of distress along with their harassed looking parents. I walked to a person who looked like the watchman. 'Where can I go for Aadhaar.....'
'Turn to your right. It's on first floor' he replied even before I had completed my question.
When I reached the 1st floor, I didn't have to ask where the center was. The classroom on the right had all the signs of government activity. Groups of people with confusion and impatience writ large on their faces occupied the room. True to the Indian tradition, there was no apparent queue formed. I sauntered over to a lady who looked like she knew what she was doing over there.
'Do we need to fill up any form?' I asked with my heart thumping at twice its normal speed in the ribcage. Filling up a 2-page form is not one of my strong points.
'Yes, you can get it over there' She indicated a knot of people near a table. Almost everyone in that group was craning its neck towards the center so I concluded that there must be a living being somewhere there.
When I made my way there, I saw that the poor soul was fielding questions that were being thrown at him from left, right and center. One person was asking him about the documents to be submitted while another one was complaining that it won't be possible for him to come again next day. Manners told me to await my turn but I knew from experience that he who keeps his mouth shut gets served the last, or not at all.
'Excuse me, can I get 2 forms?' I jumped in when there was a lull in the conversation.
Without saying a word, he tore off a form and handed it to me.
'I need 2 forms' I said meekly, thinking he might not have heard me the first time.
'Get a xerox done'. In India, a photocopy is called a xerox.
I should have been surprised, I think. But I wasn't. This had Government stamped all over it. Don't know where all that tax money goes to work.
Fortunately, I knew there was a place nearby where a photocopy could be obtained. I re-entered the school tucking the original and photo copy under my arm. An elderly watchman on the ground floor saw me looking around for a place where I could sit to fill up my form and kindly offered me a his chair next to a table. I fumbled in my purse for the identity and address proof. 'If you have a PAN card, that will be enough' he nodded towards the document and smiled to me. I smiled back. I hope the things are that simple. You never know with proofs of any kind and government people.
After filling up the form I went back to the 1st floor and rejoined the so-called queue.
'I doubt your processing will happen today' the lady who had led me to the form said.
'Oh' I don't think it is humanely possible to be any more verbose than this when you are informed that you won't be able to finish the work that you have set out to do.
'I was here yesterday. They took my form and asked me to come today' she nodded sympathetically noting the dazed expression on my face.
'Thanks so much. I will go and ask.' I said from the bottom of my heart. This good lady had just saved me the trouble of waiting in the queue for an unknown length of time only to be told to come next day.
I went to the person dispensing the form. 'Excuse me, can you please tell me if this can be processed today or will I have to come tomorrow?'
'You will have to come tomorrow madam.'
'Will you keep this form then?'
He turned to the only person in the room who was manning the center with him. This person was filling up applicants' information in the system, taking their finger-prints, photos and iris scans. 'Can we take her form?'
'No. Madam, please come tomorrow morning' the other man looked up from his keyboard and told me.
I sighed, thanked him and turned on my heels. At least I have the form and it is filled, I said to myself. If all goes well tomorrow, I will be done with this.
And thus I survived the 1st day of Aadhar enrollment with a firm view at the proverbial silver lining.
A lady answered. 'Hi, your name is mentioned on the Aadhar site' I told her what she, presumably, already knew.
'Yes' she replied stoically. She must be getting many calls with similar opening lines.
'Can you please tell me what documents I need to bring?' I asked, almost expecting her to reply with a stern 'all the information is on the site'.
'An identity proof and an address proof' she spoke calmly. Some lucky ones are endowed with an almost superhuman patience.
'No photo is needed?' I asked feeling mightily relieved. My supply of my own photos was at an all-time low inventory.
'No'
'Do I need to take an appointment or can I just walk in?' I fired the last salvo and prayed that she wasn't already at the end of her tethers.
'You can walk in' the words were music to my ears. I thanked her profusely and hung up.
2-3 days later I walked into the enrollment center. Being a municipality school, it was overflowing with children in various degrees of distress along with their harassed looking parents. I walked to a person who looked like the watchman. 'Where can I go for Aadhaar.....'
'Turn to your right. It's on first floor' he replied even before I had completed my question.
When I reached the 1st floor, I didn't have to ask where the center was. The classroom on the right had all the signs of government activity. Groups of people with confusion and impatience writ large on their faces occupied the room. True to the Indian tradition, there was no apparent queue formed. I sauntered over to a lady who looked like she knew what she was doing over there.
'Do we need to fill up any form?' I asked with my heart thumping at twice its normal speed in the ribcage. Filling up a 2-page form is not one of my strong points.
'Yes, you can get it over there' She indicated a knot of people near a table. Almost everyone in that group was craning its neck towards the center so I concluded that there must be a living being somewhere there.
When I made my way there, I saw that the poor soul was fielding questions that were being thrown at him from left, right and center. One person was asking him about the documents to be submitted while another one was complaining that it won't be possible for him to come again next day. Manners told me to await my turn but I knew from experience that he who keeps his mouth shut gets served the last, or not at all.
'Excuse me, can I get 2 forms?' I jumped in when there was a lull in the conversation.
Without saying a word, he tore off a form and handed it to me.
'I need 2 forms' I said meekly, thinking he might not have heard me the first time.
'Get a xerox done'. In India, a photocopy is called a xerox.
I should have been surprised, I think. But I wasn't. This had Government stamped all over it. Don't know where all that tax money goes to work.
Fortunately, I knew there was a place nearby where a photocopy could be obtained. I re-entered the school tucking the original and photo copy under my arm. An elderly watchman on the ground floor saw me looking around for a place where I could sit to fill up my form and kindly offered me a his chair next to a table. I fumbled in my purse for the identity and address proof. 'If you have a PAN card, that will be enough' he nodded towards the document and smiled to me. I smiled back. I hope the things are that simple. You never know with proofs of any kind and government people.
After filling up the form I went back to the 1st floor and rejoined the so-called queue.
'I doubt your processing will happen today' the lady who had led me to the form said.
'Oh' I don't think it is humanely possible to be any more verbose than this when you are informed that you won't be able to finish the work that you have set out to do.
'I was here yesterday. They took my form and asked me to come today' she nodded sympathetically noting the dazed expression on my face.
'Thanks so much. I will go and ask.' I said from the bottom of my heart. This good lady had just saved me the trouble of waiting in the queue for an unknown length of time only to be told to come next day.
I went to the person dispensing the form. 'Excuse me, can you please tell me if this can be processed today or will I have to come tomorrow?'
'You will have to come tomorrow madam.'
'Will you keep this form then?'
He turned to the only person in the room who was manning the center with him. This person was filling up applicants' information in the system, taking their finger-prints, photos and iris scans. 'Can we take her form?'
'No. Madam, please come tomorrow morning' the other man looked up from his keyboard and told me.
I sighed, thanked him and turned on my heels. At least I have the form and it is filled, I said to myself. If all goes well tomorrow, I will be done with this.
And thus I survived the 1st day of Aadhar enrollment with a firm view at the proverbial silver lining.
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