Dubai has tamed many a smart cookie from India .
Say what you like but all the bravado and DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM / DO YOU KNOW WHO I KNOW vanishes once you enter a government building here in the UAE .
An immediate transformation takes place and Indian lions become sheep.
I clearly remember my visit to the Immigration department- a large building with hundreds of cars parked outside and hundreds of people inside .
No tea shops with clerks who are supposed to be at their counter having tea .
No pan shops selling pan .
One enters the building and reads the signs for the various counters .
No one asks questions as the directions are clear .
No PAN stains in the corners , no smell of urine anywhere - not even in the washrooms which are as clean as a 5 star hotel and very little noise if any at all. And no one is seen smoking .
The hall where visas were made was large, spotless and airy.
Long benches were placed perpendicular to all the counters which were all manned .
When you entered you were expected to switch off your mobile and almost everyone did that without questioning .
Many put it in silent / vibrate mode and f they took / made a call there was no yelling to hear what they were saying .
You usually take a token .
You take you place on the bench and watch proceedings.
A man goes to the counter only after his token number appears on the screen
He stands quietly and answers questions . No - he does not argue - does not try to bribe the clerk - talks politely and in undertones . He signs when told to sign , pays when told to pay, takes his papers and moves on.
He does not ask to see the boss even if there is a problem
If his forms are incomplete he moves aside and completes them . If he is sent to another window and has to line up again he does it without a murmur.
He does not phone a friend to phone the clerk and request/ threaten/ put pressure on him !
As soon as he gets up everyone seated on the bench slides one place closer to the counter - there is no talk - no pushing , shoving , jostling for position nothing . Its quiet and peaceful .
The tough talking brat who throws his weight around in his motherland , India, is a different sort of person here .
He is a well behaved expat.!
Say what you like but all the bravado and DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM / DO YOU KNOW WHO I KNOW vanishes once you enter a government building here in the UAE .
An immediate transformation takes place and Indian lions become sheep.
I clearly remember my visit to the Immigration department- a large building with hundreds of cars parked outside and hundreds of people inside .
No tea shops with clerks who are supposed to be at their counter having tea .
No pan shops selling pan .
One enters the building and reads the signs for the various counters .
No one asks questions as the directions are clear .
No PAN stains in the corners , no smell of urine anywhere - not even in the washrooms which are as clean as a 5 star hotel and very little noise if any at all. And no one is seen smoking .
The hall where visas were made was large, spotless and airy.
Long benches were placed perpendicular to all the counters which were all manned .
When you entered you were expected to switch off your mobile and almost everyone did that without questioning .
Many put it in silent / vibrate mode and f they took / made a call there was no yelling to hear what they were saying .
You usually take a token .
You take you place on the bench and watch proceedings.
A man goes to the counter only after his token number appears on the screen
He stands quietly and answers questions . No - he does not argue - does not try to bribe the clerk - talks politely and in undertones . He signs when told to sign , pays when told to pay, takes his papers and moves on.
He does not ask to see the boss even if there is a problem
If his forms are incomplete he moves aside and completes them . If he is sent to another window and has to line up again he does it without a murmur.
He does not phone a friend to phone the clerk and request/ threaten/ put pressure on him !
As soon as he gets up everyone seated on the bench slides one place closer to the counter - there is no talk - no pushing , shoving , jostling for position nothing . Its quiet and peaceful .
The tough talking brat who throws his weight around in his motherland , India, is a different sort of person here .
He is a well behaved expat.!
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