File No. 3058

At times the thought of this never-ending script gives me nightmares. The day I see the end of this major hurdle being removed from my shoulders will be a day of real celebration. I have promised so many things to so many friends and acquaintances. First time in my life I have even tried to make a deal with the almighty. I belong to that endangered species, which wants to believe that we are basically ethical and honest race. My idealism and optimism has not waned in five decades of my existence on this planet. Being an only child, books have been my best companions since my childhood. This led to a teaching career of more than three decades. I have experienced the continuous decline of the educational system; leading to an obsession for the materialistic world, where money is synonymous with success and power. There is an unruly race to acquire as much money as possible by any means leading to degradation of basic human values, which at one time were part of our culture. When I finally decided to retire voluntarily from my teaching career due to disillusionment with the changing system that encouraged people to become incompetent and unethical, the file came in existence, the processing of which taught me how out-dated I had become over the years. During this time I have wandered from one office to another that deals with pension proceedings. The main office where most of the paper work is done has been an eye opener. Most of the people working there claim to be so engrossed in their work that at least for five minutes they would not look up from the file in front of them. Then you have to go round and round in circles, till you reach the person in charge. No one will guide you or give you any information as if it is a federal secret. God forbid if a relevant paper is missing you will be informed with great relish and a smirk on the face to get lost. However if you ask for any help you reach a dead end. With dogged determination and perseverance I learnt the process from anyone and everyone, who could help me and after repeated visits, ignoring the glazed looks and stand-off attitude I succeeded in getting the authority letter stating that I should be paid my dues. I danced a jig and thought that this was the end of the road. But alas, I was in for rude awakening. This order is then processed further in three channels. Although the first cheque was paid on the 22nd of March, the second in May I am still waiting for the third. Irony of the situation is that you are denied any explanation for the delay. Although I do not like to believe in hearsay, when you come to know that the only way to expedite the procedure is to wine and dine the appropriate person in charge shakes the idealist in me. Is it too much to expect that we can still redeem ourselves? Can you hear the trumpets and the firecrackers? I finally received my last cheque. With heavy heart I bid adieu to my FILE No. 3058, with the epitaph “ here lies the saga that taught me the functioning of govt. offices in our country.”