Indian Bureaucracy

This is my ‘hats off’ to Indian bureaucracy. No matter how infuriating the system may be to weed through you have to hand it to the bureaucrats for being masters of their craft.

Despite the perennial frustration of tiresome queues, shuffling from one department to another, fending off inappropriate questions and dealing with the dummies in the lower ranks it never ceases to amaze me how quickly exasperation is reduced to whimpering gratitude in the presence of the bureaucrat who finally approves your application.

Nothing deflates rage like the polished air of dismissal from the top cat. In the face of misinformation, contempt and a string of other offenses thoughts of retribution vaporize as papers are scrawled with approval. Survival instinct kicks in and your vocabulary is reduced to a simpering “yes sir” “no sir” “thank you sir”. A bureaucrat’s office is not the place to jeopardize chances by voicing grievances!

There is another department for that.