Category Archives: Red Tape aka Governance

Bits and pieces about diverse forays into the a-MAZE-ing world of officialdom, bureaucratese and PROCEDURE.

Income Tax Blues

Posted on August 9, 2016 by rgeeta

Two letters from the IT office. Don’t dare open them. Finally do, in the presence of sister and cousin after getting to Chennai (well, the letters came just before I left to go there). AAAARRGGHHH I owe them moneys?!! Quite a … Continue reading →

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Dilli o Dilli or, The world of MTNL-2

Posted on March 4, 2016 by rgeeta

It’s been nearly FOUR years since I last lost my cell phone. In the meantime, I have rejected Aircel and taken up with Airtel, which is an improvement, and have been managing pretty well with my dual SIM phone. That … Continue reading →

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LTC, DU, AI/IA (DEL-MAA-DEL)

Posted on November 1, 2015 by rgeeta

LTC  DU  AI/IA  DEL (Delhi)  MAA (Chennai aka Madras) Thanks to a couple of my colleagues, who regularly remind me about leave travel concessions, blocks and so on, I have so far availed of this benefit about three times in these past six … Continue reading →

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Granted, it is not easy

Posted on September 11, 2015 by rgeeta

Get a letter, end July,  saying that the grant money has been transferred to DU. So I ask around, what do I need to do next? Oh nothing, just start spending the money and start submitting bills. That easy? Hmm. … Continue reading →

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Revolution in education?

Posted on August 25, 2015 by rgeeta

Check this again 19 February 2016. The Allahabad High Court has ordered all government servants to send their children to government schools. Apparently Justice Sudhir Agarwal believes that this is the only way to improve the schools. An informative blog … Continue reading →

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Know thy postman (and lineman, etc)

Posted on August 18, 2015 by rgeeta

14 June 2014 Here I am, in my usual post-lunch stupor, at my mother’s house in Chennai. My cell phone rings. Cursing, I pull myself up and reach for the phone and squint to read the caller’s name. “Civil Lines … Continue reading →

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Chennai Water and Sewerage Board

Posted on August 18, 2015 by rgeeta

8 July 2015 Time to renew the water tax card. Uma went yesterday but the line was long and time was short, so she put it off until today. Go at 9 am, she told me, that’s what they told … Continue reading →

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Dilli o Dilli, Or, The World of MTNL

Posted on July 26, 2015 by rgeeta

24 July, 2012 I grew up in a pre-liberalization India where the public sector ruled. Things changed, of course, and the transformation of Chennai Telephones (?) to BSNL was unnoticed by me because I had left Chennai and India by … Continue reading →

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Dilli o Dilli, Or, I KNEW that North India was a different country

Posted on July 24, 2015 by rgeeta

14 July 2012 Dilli o Dilli Or, I KNEW that North India was a different country Moving is not to be taken lightly anywhere. But in Delhi, it takes on a whole other dimension. Having moved to a different flat … Continue reading →

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Wah re wah, MCD*!

Posted on July 24, 2015 by rgeeta

12 December 2012 On Monday, on my way to work, I saw a dead dog on the pavement just beyond Patel Chest Institute and before Geology. Sad, I thought, and walked on. And assumed that someone would do something about … Continue reading →

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