Today's key word would most likely be bureaucracy: written in multiple fonts and hardly legible to the human eye. I come to expect this from India really but I just thought I'd document an example of how a seemingly easy to resolve situation (by Western standards of course) can be complicated.
So I am in quite a rush to get my documentation submitted to the local police station foreigners office so I can extend my visa here, I think you are supposed to get the documentation off and away to the embassy in Delhi 60 days before visa termination, mine being on th 9th November. In addition, the Tata trip commences end of December so getting this extension is imperative. So to pay for my visa which is 120$ I need to send a treasury challan which is basically where you get a receipt as such which proves you have made a deposit to the Indian Central Bank which is then claimed by the recipient, in this case the Indian embassy responsible for foreigner immigration. So its a way of paying for stuff without actually being there in person, like a voucher. Anyway, so what I have to do is go to the treasury office in my local town, Berhampur, pick up a form which I believe must be photocopied in a certain way and then return to the police office with this form so he can help us fill it out. By the way, the treasury office is only open from 10:30 am to 13:30pm. Helpful. So anyway, following this form being filled out I take this to the main branch of the Indian State Bank and pay the money into their reserve. I then finally get another document which is proof of payment which is then sent along with my other documentation to Delhi. Too many forms, too much wasted time and a completely illogical process. Ever heard of a simple electronic bank account transfer. Nope. No idea mate! ARGH. So wish me and Olive luck for tomorrow's attempts!
I did some other stuff this morning concerning my Tata train application (mention before) too as I have to submit financial documentation to prove myself 'deserving' of a fully sponsored position on their selection roaster. Little worried about this as I am far from a poor upbringing in comparison to other people from the developing world and fully sponsored positions are not given out freely, despite this trip being organised by Tata, perhaps India's largest and most profitable company. I'm going to take some advice on my responses and cross my fingers I don't get rejected on these grounds. It would seem a massive shame for this to fall through at this stage. There are people from all over the world who have been selected and not all are as I say before from 'poor' beginnings...I'll just have to see. Either way I can't afford to pay for any of the trip if it comes to that.
The art section guys ,who I am getting ever more close with, have most of my work finished for the RTI IEC (Information Education Communication) materials. This comprises 7 posters, and a tonne of great sketches exemplifying the impact RTI can have on various village level issues. I'm really proud of this work and excited about the final product. I'll post the photos up when I finally go and photograph the whole set.
Apart from this, I think I am still getting over my jet-lag and this morning felt like sleeping a very, very long time. I'm forcing myself to go by Indian time instead of how I did it in England and just slept a few days away.
I wish my Oriya was far better too. I feel apprehensive about going back to the field before I am more confident in understanding others speaking the language to me. Not easy.
Right, that's it. I'll link to my picassa album with yesterdays 5 shots.
https://picasaweb.google.com/114936315234966016722/13September2011ReturnToGV5?authuser=0&feat=directlink
I hope I can get into a habit of this as it could work really well. There were some great opportunities for shots I missed today in Berhampur, the school kids often get lifts in cycle rickshaws with an extended part on the back where they all sit down and are covered by a little roof, like a cycle rickshaw school bus. See the picture below of a really good example of one.
Love to all
Rich
So I am in quite a rush to get my documentation submitted to the local police station foreigners office so I can extend my visa here, I think you are supposed to get the documentation off and away to the embassy in Delhi 60 days before visa termination, mine being on th 9th November. In addition, the Tata trip commences end of December so getting this extension is imperative. So to pay for my visa which is 120$ I need to send a treasury challan which is basically where you get a receipt as such which proves you have made a deposit to the Indian Central Bank which is then claimed by the recipient, in this case the Indian embassy responsible for foreigner immigration. So its a way of paying for stuff without actually being there in person, like a voucher. Anyway, so what I have to do is go to the treasury office in my local town, Berhampur, pick up a form which I believe must be photocopied in a certain way and then return to the police office with this form so he can help us fill it out. By the way, the treasury office is only open from 10:30 am to 13:30pm. Helpful. So anyway, following this form being filled out I take this to the main branch of the Indian State Bank and pay the money into their reserve. I then finally get another document which is proof of payment which is then sent along with my other documentation to Delhi. Too many forms, too much wasted time and a completely illogical process. Ever heard of a simple electronic bank account transfer. Nope. No idea mate! ARGH. So wish me and Olive luck for tomorrow's attempts!
I did some other stuff this morning concerning my Tata train application (mention before) too as I have to submit financial documentation to prove myself 'deserving' of a fully sponsored position on their selection roaster. Little worried about this as I am far from a poor upbringing in comparison to other people from the developing world and fully sponsored positions are not given out freely, despite this trip being organised by Tata, perhaps India's largest and most profitable company. I'm going to take some advice on my responses and cross my fingers I don't get rejected on these grounds. It would seem a massive shame for this to fall through at this stage. There are people from all over the world who have been selected and not all are as I say before from 'poor' beginnings...I'll just have to see. Either way I can't afford to pay for any of the trip if it comes to that.
The art section guys ,who I am getting ever more close with, have most of my work finished for the RTI IEC (Information Education Communication) materials. This comprises 7 posters, and a tonne of great sketches exemplifying the impact RTI can have on various village level issues. I'm really proud of this work and excited about the final product. I'll post the photos up when I finally go and photograph the whole set.
Apart from this, I think I am still getting over my jet-lag and this morning felt like sleeping a very, very long time. I'm forcing myself to go by Indian time instead of how I did it in England and just slept a few days away.
I wish my Oriya was far better too. I feel apprehensive about going back to the field before I am more confident in understanding others speaking the language to me. Not easy.
Right, that's it. I'll link to my picassa album with yesterdays 5 shots.
https://picasaweb.google.com/114936315234966016722/13September2011ReturnToGV5?authuser=0&feat=directlink
I hope I can get into a habit of this as it could work really well. There were some great opportunities for shots I missed today in Berhampur, the school kids often get lifts in cycle rickshaws with an extended part on the back where they all sit down and are covered by a little roof, like a cycle rickshaw school bus. See the picture below of a really good example of one.
Love to all
Rich
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