Cheated!!

Honest Abe once made a comment on legal profession that probably every law student has heard at the beginning of his (extraordinarily) long student life. It has something to do with it being the route to highest office in the land! Well, in my brief career, I have experienced instances that support this view. You will not believe how far the black coat and white shirt can take y0u without security verification! And more often than not, there is an inherent change in mannerisms.

But Friday was different. I had to bribe a peon, a receptionist and a senior bureaucrat! All for a procedural compliance which was rightfully mine. At the end of the whole thing, such was the level of my frustration that when the parking attendant of the department told me that I needed to park my car at the adjacent parking lot or else he would be fined 200 bucks, I nearly offered him a couple of gandhis!My partner told me that this gross ineptitude should be indulged only if I am sitting in a merc and not from my poor li'l small car! During the whole process, I had a 100 rupee note in my front pocket, a 500 rupee note in my inner pocket, a couple of 500 rupee notes in my side pocket and so on....all, as part of my preparation to face the devil's department. Its not that I have bribed a lowly clerk for the first time, but in this instance, I found myself in a government department where almost everyone was nice to you for a price.People wanted their own 'fees', they wanted fees for others! I would not have been surprised if they had not charged me for my services as well.

Now, government processes are something like tatkal services. You always have the option of going by the regular process! But to cut short time, you always have the option of oiling the system to get the desired result in good time. I personally do not like that, but, can't wash away my guilt! You will be surprised to know that my experience of bribing the whole department came in an office where everything is timebound! I plead guilty of playing a part in going along with the system of corruption, when I feel so strongly against it! My former boss taught me that when entering your office, one should throw morality out of window, and I did exactly that! And I have that sinking feeling.

Yesterday was Indira gandhi's 25th death anniversary. I am told that I was born when the country was burning due to riots after her death. The elders often recount how those were troubled times and it was only with a lot of difficulty that some of my family members could pay me a visit. Now, I really have no opinion on Indira, but live through this legacy of extreme corruption at all ranks, which I have reasons to believe, are a result of her legacy. This might be uncalled for, but i wonder what will it take to get out of this mess. Another Indira or for us to change??