My 16 year old son was selected to represent his School in a Student-Exchange program abroad (China), which required  re-issue of his five-year valid  – now expired Passport. Though I had sufficient time, to ‘renew his Passport vows’,  I was warned that applying through the normal general quota channel might take over two months! Naturally, I had to find shortcuts which are available aplenty in India – the ‘juggad’ country. The Indian Government itself has officially invented a smart one, called ‘TATKAL’.

Luckily, I found an honest non-bribe taking Govt. Of India Neta/Babu,  to issue a Verification Certificate, after which I made an on-line Application. On the appointed day, I piled up outside the New Delhi Regional Passport Office, and once the gates were only ‘crack opened’ by smelly rustic security staff,  I rushed to the Online Counter and quickly paid the extra Tatkal fees!  I had done my home work extremely well -the Passport Official smiled like a Cheshire Cat and meowed acceptance of various affidavits and proofs of ‘this & that’.  Hurrah!  Four working days later my son got himself a ten year valid Passport  – forget outer space, the Great Wall of China was visible from New Delhi itself!

At the same time, on the same day, my attempt to update the Address on my own valid Passport ended in a horrible failure, as after waiting over an hour in a long queue the Passport Official looking through an awfully small window, mumbled something & chased me out to fill some other Form – despite following all available instructions on the Passport Website!

I now decided to send my wife  & son to Mumbai, to catch-up with old friends and return with new stories to tell.  Like the overgrown hairs sticking out of his ears, Lallu’s Railways was booked-full with ‘hairy people’. Five days before the journey date I logged on and with lightening speed successfully booked two Tatkal e-tickets from Delhi to Mumbai. Wow! Tatkal Works! What about the return journey? Well, I had grown quite smart and was confident of my newly acquired Tatkal skills! I waited for the magic mandatory five days-‘before journey’ and at sharp 8 ‘0’ clock began the on-line booking. Alas! Before I could say RABRI DEVI the IRCTC website ,which filled-up within seconds  & hung with the ‘hair overload’, refused to budge. I tried every trick I knew, to no avail. Finally, when I did make it respond – all tickets were sold-out, and heading many numbers into the WAIT LISTED category! I earnestly tried the next day-only to end-up ‘hanging myself’ again, and could manage only a failed transaction! I later learnt that Tatkal Agents  use special software to make the system respond positively to their bookings –to garner the extra commission fees on booking Tatkal for their lazy Clients (Tatkal over Tatkal, eh?)

I became a worried man- with the family stranded in commercial Mumbai.  I ditched Lallu and effortlessly ‘Cleartripped’ Air-tickets to Go-Air the wife & son – before ‘Marathi Manoo’ Raj Thackeray could even think of driving them out!

Looking back – should not all ‘government things’ move in a Tatkal manner in normal functioning? Despite many  flaws, The Tatkal system presents and makes available all necessary information to the ordinary Citizen to accomplish his tasks without taking recourse to a Govt.Babu’s  for interpretation and manipulation (and providing opportunities for corruption). Therein lies the answer to good governance! Establish systems,  which makes all governmental functions absolutely transparent, with knowledge on procedures disseminated so well, thoroughly & clearly that even a child could figure out what to do. Make “governmental way-finding” simple & easy and watch India develop to drop-off the infamous List of the most corrupt countries. Ha! Ha!