We are used to talking about inefficiency, corruption, and the lack of punctuality in government offices in India. Offices invariably open late, and when they do, several staff are missing. They have taken casual leave, are congenital latecomers, or they have effectively never joined. Those that are there at their desks are, more often than not, not the people one needs to get one’s job done.
At times, as in a Kafka story, one comes back again and again to the office to meet the one officer who never turns up. All going well, the officer is on time, in his seat, and in a good mood. This combination is unlikely but does happen.
On looking at the documents that one produces, several possibilities arise. Some documents are missing, some documents are not the originals, the photocopies are not the ones they need, and of course, many passport-size photographs are needed. On the desk one sees the unseeing eyes of people staring out from dusty documents.
If the officer is in…