Visa, Revisited

I wanted to update you all on our visa nightmare. As you might remember from an earlier post that I wrote in August, Eric and I are in the midst of trying to deal with our visas for the coming year. I applied for my extension in August with the promise that it would be ready in a month and a half, at which point we could then apply for Eric’s extension which would take an additional month and a half, leaving us a month and a half before we were scheduled to leave India for our visit to the US for the holidays in December. The only wrinkle in this is that of course, you can’t take an Indian civil servant at his word. Knowing this, we made a contingency plan. We booked a flight to Bangkok, Thailand and a hotel room near the Indian Embassy so that we could simply apply for new visas for both of us in case my visa didn’t come on time. Good thing we did, it has been over two and a half months, and surprise, surprise, no visa.



One of the most irritating aspects of this debacle has been actually trying to convince the head NCBS administrator that this is indeed a debacle. He has, since August, stubbornly refused to believe that the visa will not arrive in time despite all evidence suggesting that it will probably never come at all. As soon as we booked our flights and hotels in Thailand, he suggested that perhaps it wouldn’t be necessary that we go, that my visa should arrive before that time. I replied that no one would be happier than me if my visa did arrive before we left as I had gone through a considerable amount of trouble to apply for it, and also since I had already paid for it. I continued that regardless of this, Eric’s visa also needs to be renewed and that certainly wouldn’t happen before our December cut-off. The administrator assured me that we needn’t leave to renew Eric’s visa, as long as my visa was renewed, his renewal is automatic. First of all, in India, nothing is automatic. Second of all, that is complete rubbish, actually it is insane to suggest that you could just hold up your spouse’s visa and claim that you are somehow covered by it. Even as late as last week when I was gathering the paperwork for our visa renewal in Bangkok, this same fellow suggested once again that maybe we wouldn’t need to go, that my visa could arrive any day now. I can only assume that this guy is a mindless ignoramus. First of all, my visa IS NOT here, we have absolutely no assurances that it will be here, secondly, what about Eric’s, and thirdly, even if there was some sort of divine intervention and we opened our passports to find that we had new visas for both of us, we have already booked our flights (one to Bangkok and another to Phuket), and we have booked our hotels in both locations as well and there is no refunds when you cancel. This guy is either ignorant or unimpressed with all of these things, and it makes me crazy. He also was responsible for writing a letter to the Indian embassy in Bangkok on my behalf for our visa extension basically stating that I have a job at the NCBS, blah, blah. In it, he outright lied about why it was necessary that we go to Bangkok for our visas. He refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem with the Indian government’s ability to take care of business. I rewrote the letter, there is no way that we are going to shoulder any part of the blame for this thing, and we have followed the rules to the letter. When December rolls around and my visa still hasn’t arrived from Delhi, I am looking forward to going into this guy’s office and informing him that I was absolutely correct to be concerned about the arrival of my visa, and that he should never again regard someone’s affairs with so little care.



Though this guy has been a royal pain, I have been encouraged by the support of a few key individuals. My lab-mates have always offered a sympathetic ear when I needed to vent and comforted me when I returned from my disastrous visits to the Foreign Registry Office. My boss has completely thrown her support behind me and has acknowledged the necessity of our trip to Bangkok and has helped me whenever I have asked. Most surprisingly, the head of the institute approached me a few weeks ago and mentioned that he had heard of my troubles (I tend to make a lot of noise) and that he would have the institute pay for airfare since we had no choice but to attend to this issue out of country. I have not seen a rupee yet, but I was heartened to learn that the people that mattered knew the situation and wanted to help in any way that they could.



Anyway, I have again assembled all of the paperwork required for our visa application, tonight I will pack our bathing suits and sunscreen, and we depart for Bangkok tomorrow morning at 3:30. We are crossing our fingers that everything will go well for us at the embassy, if not, we will have no choice but to get on a flight coming back to the US because our visas will be expired. Wish us luck! Thailand, here we come!

Gandhi Jayanti

Today India celebrates the birth of one of the most famous and influential individuals of modern times, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, or more famously known as Mahatma Gandhi. He was born on October 2, 1869 and spent most of his 78 years working towards Indian independence and subsequent reconciliation following Partition. He pioneered civil disobedience and rejected violence and has served as a model for civil rights movements around the world. He is truly the most amazing individual that I have ever learned of and he should serve as a model to the whole world that much can be accomplished by wit and diplomacy without having to resort to violence. This June, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution declaring October 2 to be the "International Day of Non-Violence". If only a resolution could achieve peace, Gandhi would be proud.

Star Struck (Literally)

I sometimes wonder what has happened to our culture and why we care at all about the famous. With all that is happening throughout the world, how is it possible that a terrible performance by a chubby and talentless Britney Spears at the MTV Video Awards not only makes the news, but leads it? Who cares about coked out Lindsey Lohan, perpetually intoxicated Paris Hilton, and Anna Nicole baby-daddy? Give me a break, these stories aren't news, but somehow they manage to creep into the press and seem to have taken over the cable news networks.



So, what is our fascination with celebrities, particularly fallen icons who somehow always manage to find themselves back in the limelight, though the source of that light is often from a policeman's Maglite. My theory is that we are drawn to the fallen (or falling) star because their stories reassure us that celebrity isn't all it's cracked up to be. Who could be envious of a celebrity like David Hasselhoff after seeing him struggle to eat a burger, okay, forget about the burger, after seeing him struggle to sit up and form complete sentences while his teenage daughter taped his bender? I would say that we seek out these stories because they serve to humanize the celebrity, but I feel that instead, we love to see the suffering and unendless stupidity of those of our species that have everything and manage through their ridiculous carelessness, to lose it all.



I am, however, relieved to say that no matter how celebrity-obsessed our culture is, it could be worse. Take for instance the case of India. Reality television was stolen by the United States from Europe, and even though most of us would probably like to give it back since it has evolved (more like devolved) to include shows like I Love New York (a spin off of the critically acclaimed Flavor of Love), Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?, and Temptation Island, India decided to try their hand at it. And so Indian Idol was born. The show is virtually identical to its American step-sister except for its potential to lead to mayhem and bloodshed. Prashant Tamang, an ethnic Nepali youth from the eastern state of West Bengal, beat Amit Paul from a different sate, Meghalaya, after a closely contested final round last Sunday which in turn inflamed regional rivalries. Tamang, as an ethnic Nepali, does not look like the average Indian, and in fact looks like an East Asian. Apparently this difference in ethnicity lead to some initial animosity which was quelled when the contestants appealed for peace. However, a radio talk show host threw out a couple of ethnic slurs when referring to Tamang, sparking violence in East Bengal where THOUSANDS of protestors took to the streets. The protest turned violent (as often happens in India) and around 60 people have been injured and countless cars burned and stores looted. A curfew has been imposed and the army has been called in to maintain order.



Who would have guessed that reality TV could be so devastating? After learning of this story I was pretty grateful that there was no violence between Texas and Pennsylvania when Kelly Clarkson beat the pants off of Justin Guarini. I really think that we dodged a bullet; we all know how much Texans love to fight. Just imagine the result of infighting between Ruben Studdard's Alabama and Clay Aiken's North Carolina. Oh, the horror! Actually, imagining a fight between Ruben and Clay is pretty entertaining and would probably make for some pretty good reality TV itself. Certainly no one would stoop so low as to air washed out celebrities fighting. What, FOX, the last bastion of taste and class, has aired Celebrity Boxing, are you kidding? There goes the moral high ground.