Last year I had gone to India to recruit teachers.
Now let me give you a little background .
My hometown is Allahabad so that is what is mentioned in my passport.
Place of residence is now shown as Dubai as that is where the PP was renewed.
I had travelled to Chennai, Delhi and Lucknow and had to fly back to Dubai from Lucknow.
Its 2 .00 am and there is only one flight leaving Lucknow at that time - for Dubai ( its a small airport ).
Its Air India ( what else can it be ) and Lucknow has a small airport.
Long queue - mostly workers moving to Dubai.
Then I reach the counter and stand there for a few minutes.
The clerk behind the counter looks up from over the rim of his spectacles .
The conversation that follows takes place in Hindi ..................
I am asked my name - full name
Date of birth??
Place of birth??
Present residence - I answer Dubai
Reason for travel- I answer Work.
By now my blood is boiling but I try hard to remain calm.
Now start the howlers.
This is what he said - in Hindi.
If I am from Allahabad - lived in Dubai , entered India 8 days ago from Chennai then WHY was I exiting from Lucknow !!!
I swallowed hard and could not believe that this guy had the audacity to ask such moronic questions .
You want to know what I did then ????
No your wrong
I worked out the puzzle for him- slowly and peacefully and confidently.
He smiled as if he was now going to stump me with the 1 crore question..............
WHERE ARE YOU FLYING TO was his question.
That was when I put my hand luggage down - looked him in the eye and asked him how many flights were leaving within the next hour or for that matter for the next 8 hours.
He said - one flight - to Dubai
So I said - YES sir- that is the flight I am catching .
He then asked me to stand in the center of the counter so that he could look carefully lest some other angle made me look like a T......T
With a flourish he then stamped the passport- looked again and said NEXT ...................
Even when I think back now - my blood races through my veins ..........................
So much for the Indian babu .
Now let me give you a little background .
My hometown is Allahabad so that is what is mentioned in my passport.
Place of residence is now shown as Dubai as that is where the PP was renewed.
I had travelled to Chennai, Delhi and Lucknow and had to fly back to Dubai from Lucknow.
Its 2 .00 am and there is only one flight leaving Lucknow at that time - for Dubai ( its a small airport ).
Its Air India ( what else can it be ) and Lucknow has a small airport.
Long queue - mostly workers moving to Dubai.
Then I reach the counter and stand there for a few minutes.
The clerk behind the counter looks up from over the rim of his spectacles .
The conversation that follows takes place in Hindi ..................
I am asked my name - full name
Date of birth??
Place of birth??
Present residence - I answer Dubai
Reason for travel- I answer Work.
By now my blood is boiling but I try hard to remain calm.
Now start the howlers.
This is what he said - in Hindi.
If I am from Allahabad - lived in Dubai , entered India 8 days ago from Chennai then WHY was I exiting from Lucknow !!!
I swallowed hard and could not believe that this guy had the audacity to ask such moronic questions .
You want to know what I did then ????
No your wrong
I worked out the puzzle for him- slowly and peacefully and confidently.
He smiled as if he was now going to stump me with the 1 crore question..............
WHERE ARE YOU FLYING TO was his question.
That was when I put my hand luggage down - looked him in the eye and asked him how many flights were leaving within the next hour or for that matter for the next 8 hours.
He said - one flight - to Dubai
So I said - YES sir- that is the flight I am catching .
He then asked me to stand in the center of the counter so that he could look carefully lest some other angle made me look like a T......T
With a flourish he then stamped the passport- looked again and said NEXT ...................
Even when I think back now - my blood races through my veins ..........................
So much for the Indian babu .
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