yesterday i had my visa interview at US consulate at 8.15 in the morning. the didnt start off nicely. as i put my foot outside the house it started raining cats and dogs ( u can even add elephants, lions , rhinos or the entire zoo). believe me in this years rainy season the umbrellas are useless. it was windy or should i say stormy and raining. the umbrellas that were open were blown away by the wind. some how i caught a cab ( hey!! dad was there to pay the fare) and we reached the destination at 7.15 or so. then after the long wait i enetered the consulate. somehow these americans feel everyone except themselves are relatives of Osama bin laden. so no pointed things allowed, no wathces, no belts and lot of other crap.

after the stupid securty check and finger printing i settled down in one of the chairs in front of Counter Number 2 . some how i got the feeling i would be first to be called and that too at counter number 2. and exactly thats what happened. i was all happy that it was counter number two and the visa was mine and this interview would just be a formality. so i stood in line, i was sixth i guess. the first two were rejected and i thought all hell has broken loose today. counter number two and 2 rejects to begin with . whoa !! where am i? but then all others started getting visas and my turn came. here is how it went?

ME: good morning madame ! hope the mumbai rains didnt trouble you !!

VO: good morning ! so ur Mr. Maru

ME: yes i am Sumeetkumar Maru

VO: so ur from which college?

ME: from Sardar Patel College of Engineering which comes under Mumbai University

VO: u got ur degree certificate?

ME: no, i gave my exams in june and results are expected in august

VO: august show me ur marksheets

she took them but did not look at them, just flipped thru them !!

VO: so what does ur dad do?

ME: my father and my mother are partners of Ambe Sales Corporation which is a private

company we own.

VO: so how will u sustaion urself?

ME: my parents and my maternal uncle are my sponsors

here i thought she would harass me but guess what she said

VO: okay i am granting u ur visa. good luck and excel at florida.

ME: thanks

VO: (reluctantly, after giving me a visa) why are u going there?

ME: Masters in Computer Science with specialization in Computer Vision

VO: (ekdum chamak gayee !!) ohh computer vision what is that

i started mumbling in happpiness something technical and then realized that she is a VO and asked her that what she wants. she replied with a very cute smile that she wants it in lay man terms. so i gave her just that. this was only point when i got nervous coz i knew so much and wanted to barrage her with my knowledge that i ended up saying something crap (high quality crap at that) but she again told..

VO: u will get ur passport in next 24 hours

ME: (with colgate smile) thank you madame.

now i am happy and doing tp and learing to cook and will start shopping in next two three days

till then adioes and sayonaara

maru sumeet