It was a nice cool Bangalore morning in October 2013 when I
received a mail from Jamie McDonald confirming that I will be part of the
Indonesia CSC5 team...it was a long awaited mail since I was selected for the
CSC program way back in June 2012. More mails introducing fellow team members
followed. It was a very exciting time…I was going to be part of a truly
multi-national team –12 colleagues from 9 different countries on a mission to
Yogyakarta, Indonesia…wow !..we are the new “Dirty Dozen” ..;)….and the “Lee
Marvin” entrusted with the task of preparing us for Mission Yogyakarta
was a CSC Alumni, Tina Zybur.
Tina’s superbly hosted weekly calls started in November and soon
we found ourselves engrossed in team exercises, individual exercises, articles,
papers and presentations on Corporate Social Responsibility and related topics.
Soon it was December which meant it was time to get the logistics in order. The
air tickets and hotels had already been booked by ABV, our CSC program partner,
and therefore the only major task that remained was to get the Indonesian visa.
The Indonesian Embassy was in Mumbai and since I was based
in Bangalore, I had to hire the services of a Visa Agent to get my visa.
December 26th--I submit by visa application and
go off for a vacation…so far so good and I am truly ZOOMING.
30th of December – I receive a call from Thomas
Cook, the visa agent, saying that the invitation letters have not been
specifically addressed to the “Consulate General of Indonesia” and hence they
must be re-typed and re-faxed to the Embassy. I go through the drill once again--speak
to ABV, reach out to the client and the letter is re-typed and re-faxed on Jan
3rd,2014 ....life’s good OR is it ? Not so easy sir….I discovered
that my name had been misspelled in the revised letter….HICCUP!
Actually it did not quite surprise me…in fact I expected it
to be mis-spelt the first time around because South Indian names are
notoriously long. “What a long name
for short man” has been an oft repeated comment from many a British
Officer, in the days of British India. Throughout my career, I have been “the
chap with the longest name” or “the guy whose last name I cannot
pronounce” and the recipient of the request “Please, can I just call you
Jay” to which my answer has always been “No Problemo”.
But you see, Visa Officers are a different breed….they will
have “No Problemo” scanning through names even as long as the Great Wall of
China with a magnifying glass.
Its only 3 weeks for my plane and so I press the Panic
button. A repeat request is sent for a revised letter.
Jan 9th –The letter with my correct name is
promptly faxed to the Embassy. Ok, now I can relax…
Jan 17th , on a Friday afternoon– I receive a call
from my Travel agent again saying that the fax never arrived !! PANIC !!...Neil Armstrong’s heart-rate when
he landed on moon would have been slower. I start shooting e-mails to all and
sundry once again at the rate or knots.
Amidst all this meelee…it rains cats and dogs in Jakarta
that weekend. And my mother, who almost never watches news channels chooses to
watch BBC that exact weekend. and catches the news !!...and what do mothers
do….they worry…its probably a universal trait…it does not matter how old their
children are….mothers always worry….and she promptly calls me to tell me—“I am
worried for you”…..well mom, great timing, welcome to the party !
Jan 22nd –
PEACE returned finally when my agent confirmed that the Visa has been granted
and that I would be able to pick up my passport the next day …Phew !!
The last of our team calls also happened today......and the
excitement is back.
Now its time to do some last minute shopping, pack and I am
all set to go !!...cannot wait now….Yogyakarta, here I come.
hehehe.. now she is worried that you are not getting proper veg food ;)
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