The Heat’s Got To Me

It’s a bl**dy awful day , that’s what!
It’s the second week of Feb and the sun’s burning right through the roof! I have no idea what to do with the bundles of blankets lying around the house, hopeful of being used one day. I’m sure that the day I will put them away, the sun would go behind a cloud and we’ll have a cold wave sweeping across the city. The kids would shiver under their bed sheets and the BF would gruffly enquire as to why his wife was insanely eager to put away those blankets when we were ‘technically’ still in the winter season.
Anyhow, what I wanted to say was that today I had to visit the regional passport office to submit the updated birth certificate of my son. The BF warned that there is a mad rush at the passport office and it is always wise to reach there early. So I woke up earlier than usual, did my regular chores , got the twins ready for school and handed them over to their father (to wait for the school van) and reached the passport office at sharp 09:40. To my utter horror, the place was crowded with around 200 people already in queues and more coming in by the minute. The worst part? The office wasn’t open yet….the regular timing was 10:30 AM. *GROAN*. So I stood there in the heat and the dust (yes, loads of it, because the parking area right outside the passport office was nothing more than the flattened left-over remnants of the existing hill-side. There were boulders, stones and dust galore. As luck would have it, the queues stretched right out to the parking area. So every time a vehicle came in or drove out, we were all covered with a thick layer of dust. And oh, did I mention that I was wearing white today? Well, it aint white no more  . When I finally did get to enter the building, we were made to wait in a queue. After about 25 minutes, I went in and submitted the letter that I had received. The lady official asked me what the problem was and I told her that my son’s application was rejected due to discrepancy in my name and I’ve got new documents for submission. She brusquely snatched the letter, ignored the documents and asked me to wait outside the cabin.
The ‘outside’ was crawling with people, with barely an inch to spare. After a long wait, I finally got a chair to sit. So I pulled out the latest Agatha Christie from my bag and started reading. Must have read more than 50 pages before it finally clicked that I’d been sitting for a rather long time with no updates on what I was supposed to do next. So I quickly asked one of the peons and he said that the names will be called out shortly. So I went back to my book (Thank God I had the sense to get it along!) . After another 20 or so pages, my turn finally came. I stepped in gingerly and went up to the lady official. She was definitely in a foul mood! At one point I almost lost my temper and told her that my son’s twin sister got her passport around 3 months back! And both the forms were submitted together. When exactly did the official realize that my name on the application form was ‘wrong’ compared to the one on the birth certificate, I have no clue. But after submitting documents again and again, the BF went the whole hog and had my name officially changed to carry his surname (Now this is one thing I NEVER wanted to do, but I never had a hint that these people would make such an hue and cry over it. For the sake of my son’s passport, I had to take this drastic measure  ) . I was armed with these new documents when I went in. After a lot of haggling and explaining from my side and a lot of grumbling and snootiness from her side, she finally grabbed the Xerox copies and told me I could leave. So drained was I from the experience that I forgot to ask her if the application was accepted or rejected. Later on, when I spoke to the BF about it, I realized that the lady was insinuating a little about palm-greasing and being rather ignorant about the tastes of government officials, I was rather slow to get the drift 
Anyhow, the form is submitted, I’m back in office and the ticker runs while we wait patiently for the passport.
I was supposed to get my driving license by yesterday. It still hasn’t come. Now I’m worried 
The campaigning for the civic polls is getting on my nerves. The bike rallys, the auto rallys, the followers bearing banners and flags, the children hollering slogans…..it so ticks me off! I have half a mind to cross out all these revolting parties from my options…but then, I wouldn’t have anyone left to vote for  . Thankfully, it should get over in a day or two. Also, it helps that we aren’t in the South or UP, where poll campaigning is a blatantly aggressive exercise with little or no regard to general public comfort. Pune, I love these little mercies you bestow on us 
Happy Valentine’s, to Ye who Believe.
For the rest, glad to be a part of a club that’s in love forever 

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