What is your Name? - A Systemic attack on the Naming Culture of South

Well what is in a name? Rose by any other name (which smells rose) is still Rose right? But not according to our TIN (tax information network - NSDL). Better Rose has a last name and not only that it should have an identify proof and address proof with that last name.

Let me start with some background (for non south folks). Most people in south (Tamilnadu, Kerala and most parts of Karnataka) have only one name - what their parents give them. By some old tradition/culture they also have initials (which happens to be typically the first letter of their father's name). Initials as its name indicates come in front of the name like P.Chidambaram (our esteemed home minister where P stands for Palaniappan our PC's father's name). Mind it - Chidambaram is his name (only name, given name, first name.. blah..).

Our passport folks did not like this, they insisted on last name and that initials should be expanded (disallowed initials). I'm sure it resulted in lots of confusion etc, but mostly people settled on using their father's name (first name) as their last name (since initials expanded amounted to their father's name). This results in some funny incidents when formal settings in west when people are addressed by their last name (which will be your father's name). But mind it passports were processed locally and sensitive/understanding to the local culture they always accepted whatever the initial is expanded to. Proofs with first name and initials is fine. Your school leaving certificate (with P. Chidambaram or Chidambaram P) is accepted for your date of birth proof etc.

Then came our income tax folks (PAN card). They also insisted on last name, no initials etc. People just followed what they did as passport (at-least that is what i thought). But then KYC (know your customer) norms came and our NSDL/UTISL which are subsidiaries for maintaining/issuing PAN card started insisting on address proofs, identity proofs strictly.

Now comes the sordid part. They are insisting on your complete last name being present in your proofs. First Name in this proofs is not sufficient (unlike the passport or bank or any other folks who follow KYC norms). Note that it is nowhere documented (not that i know of) that this proofs should have complete last name - only that the proofs are in your name. Now what is your name ? for these folks their first name is their name (last name is their father's first name which is typically an initial), but not according to our TIN folks. Your proofs should mandatory contain the last name. This seems to be a case of taking some rule and applying it blindly without being sensitive to cultural aspects. In most parts of India people have Surname (and NOT last name) which typically identifies their caste/occupation (long back). The rule seems to have been interpreted assuming everyone has such surname.

So how do all this people in these states are getting PAN card (after this rule is enforced). Not sure but based on one of my recent experiences it seems like people have gotten around this issue by making their name (whatever parents gave them) as their Last Name (since it is there in any proofs always) and funnily making their father's name as their First Name. In-fact the out-sourced franchises where you can apply for PAN insist on this. So your parents given name (which is universally the first name/given name) becomes last name and your inherited name (your father's or family's etc) becomes your first name. Confused? So am i.

Think about women's case - whatever her parents given name is becoming her last name and her father's name is becoming her first name. After marriage she might change her family/last name/initial to her husband's. Now according to PAN card she'll have to update her first name (since that changes to her husband's name from father's name) and NOT her last name (which is her only name). Does it make any sense? Not to me.

Smart card driving license

Few weeks back i finally got rid of my paper book driving license in favor of a smart card driving license (they started issuing this from june 2009 in bangalore RTO offices). I went to jayanagar 4th block RTO office which is in the BDA complex second floor. The following are the steps involved

1. Fill up Form-6.
2. If your address has changed attach an address proof. Telephone bill (even private one like airtel) should be fine. Same might be applicable with bank statements i think.
3. Attach a self addressed envelope with Rs.25/- stamp.
4. Attach your original driving license to the application.
5. Get it verified with the supervisor for Driving License section - he'll sign it in red-ink.
6. Pay the required fees. It is Rs.200/- for smart card license (151 for the govt and 49 for the computerized operations) and Rs.20/- for address change (if applicable).
7. Get it verified with Officer (a separate queue for driving license) - he'll sign it in green ink.
8. Go to the computer counter and get your photo taken by camera attached to the computer, sample signature. This is done against the sticker (which you would have got in your receipt when you paid the fees) with unique code for tracking.
9. Attach the receipts (both of them) to the application and submit it in the counter for Driving License. The person will ask you to write your name etc in a register and You'll get a hand-written acknowledgment with a tracking number.

Then you'll receive your driving license in couple of weeks by post.

Some interesting things which happened when i applied are

• The office did not have the form-6 and asked me to collect it from the xerox shop one floor below. That guy had bunch of the original forms (not even copies) and charged Rs.2/- for it. The form is not available online afaik.
  
• I did not know about the self addressed envelope and one senior citizen was selling them in the stairs leading to the office for Rs.35/- (10 more than the face value). Entrepreneurial :-). It saved me time for a trip to post office and i was glad to pay the extra.
  
• Absolutely no bribe involved and since i got the license thru mail no more interactions, thus minimal chance for asking/giving bribe.
• The office was overcrowded (i went on a saturday) and not very helpful. I ran around asking for information few times and finally figured out the above steps by trial and error.
  
• I spent lot of time in the queue for paying fees - it seems to move at snail-pace with only one cashier accepting fees and many people paying fees for multiple stuff (vehicle registration etc) - probably agents/brokers etc.
• My original paper license was issued by indiranagar office, but no issues whatsoever in getting the smart card license in jayanagar office. Even my address i'm not sure whether it falls under jayanagar office or some other RTO office - but i don't think that matters anymore with computerized systems. Nearest RTO office might do. RTO Office jurisdiction details are here.
  

Some key things to remember are

• Have copies of your original driving license made
  
• For address proof have copies and have alternates ready if you're not sure one will be acceptable
• Since you submit both the receipts for the fees paid (along with the sticker in it) it might be better to take a copy of it in the xerox shops below just for your reference. might come in handy in case of issues (i did not take them and thankfully i did not run into issues in getting my license, but one never knows).
  
• Go early (around 10 a.m) so that you can finish it by 12 or so after which the office will close (in saturday atleast).

Applying for passport

Recently i went through the experience of renewing the passport for my wife and applying a fresh one for my son. I did this in bangalore regional passport office. Here are some of the key take-aways:

1. Have two xerox copies of all the documents you submit for proofs - this is not very obvious from the instructions online for filling form etc
2. For minors no police verification is required, so no need to fill in the personal particulars form. This is mostly true i think if either one of the parents have already passport.
3. For minor passports attach copies of both parents passport (front and last page), birth certificate and address proof of one of the parent (if current address is not there in either of the parents passports)
4. For address proof any bank statement (even private banks like axis bank) should do. I'm guessing same is applicable with telephone statement.
5. Carry originals of all your copies for verification (this is obvious from the instructions itself)
6. Photos need to be precisely of 3.5 x 3.5 size as recommended (NOTE:the standard passport size photos from studios are 3.5 x 4.5 cms). The instructions have clear guidelines on what is acceptable (light background, full frontal view etc).

If you're renewing existing passport (issued by any office - should not matter) the following are the proofs you will need

1. Address proof if there is change in address
2. Marriage certificate if you're including your spouse name for the first time - Note this is mandatory if you're applying for child's passport along with yours

If you're applying for fresh passport - the following are the proofs you'll require apart from above (address proof, marriage proof)

1. Birth certificate (alternates for date of birth like board mark-sheet should be acceptable)
2. If asking for ECNR - degree certificate

If you're applying for minors - the following are required

1. Birth certificate
2. Parents passport copies
3. Affadavit Annexure H
4. Parents address proof


References:

1. Passport Forms
2. Passport Filing guidelines
3. Affadavits (for minors Annexure H is required)
4. Checklist (for attachments/proofs)


I used online appointment of bangalore RPO for taking appointment. It opens at 9.30 am the previous day you require appointment (only one day before appointment is given) and it fills up quickly (usually within 30 minutes). Although you've an appointment most likely you'll have to spend 1-2 hours in the queues/waiting as it involves three steps

1. Tagging of application (queue based) where they verify that you've two xerox copies and re-arrange the application for police verification separately etc
2. Verification of documents - typically done by your online token number, but might become completely queue based when too many ppl miss their tokens etc
3. Payment of fees and corrections to any online data you've submitted, based on the order in which verification (step 2) was done

You should try to get the data you entered in online appointment correct, but in case of error/corrections you can notify them at step-3. This is very important as i think that is the data which will show in passport irrespective of what you've put in application.

One surprise i had was online appointment required all the data (including old passport details) before getting it - so having them handy is useful. If you're hunting for it by the time you find it the appointments will be long gone :-).

Except for bangalore RPO most other passport offices accept the complete application online and probably they expect you to submit the printed application with photos, signature and proofs. I'm not sure about the exact procedure here.

You can also submit your application from bangalore one centers (if you're in bangalore) and/or speed post centers (passport through mail). The application process is the same except for one key difference, the copies of proofs need to be attested by gazetted officers. The pros of this is you can do it any time of your convenience and avoid queues. The details are in the following links

1. Passport through bangalore one
2. Passport through speed post

Jungle lodges (K Gudi) trip thoughts

This is our fourth trip to jungle lodges in the past 2 years - we've been to dubare, kabini and dandeli before. So me and wife are probably getting tired of the same routine (jungle safaris) and same food (esp lunch and dinner are similar). Even then i think k.gudi one probably ranks the best in terms of location. It is right in the middle of the preserved sanctuary and not much human settlement for a huge area on either side. It is quiet peaceful and relaxing here. dubare comes next - again it is little isolated (separated by the cauvery river) and very peaceful. Kabini has become lot commercial and except the small complex nothing outside interesting and takes a few kms ride to get into conservatory area. dandeli was absolute last it is right in the town and it smelled bad when we were there (some industrial wastage i think). In this trip some nice changes i observed were the water served is mineral water (20 litre can) - hence no need to spend lots of money buying the bottled water, i hope other jungle lodges also started doing it. Afterall one drinks 2-3 litres and it costs 2-3 rupees per litre, so it is only additional 10 rupees for head for jungle lodges - makes lot of sense. Another nice change is a small cloth hanging stand in the tent - very useful. I was also pleasantly surprised with a tea served at 12'0 clock the day we arrived, was refreshing after a long journey. I don't know whether it is a routine now. They also took us to the Biligiri Ranganathaswamy temple on saturday which was a pleasant surprise. The things we did not like are dinner was pathetic on both days and lunch was not good on the day we arrived, next day it was better. Chicken was uniformly bad and coffee/tea is at best passable. Ovearll food quality was below average, breakfast is the only saving grace. Even there no omlette first day since they were serving dosas hot and no bananas or juice for breakfast (proably only kabini serves them). There is not much to do in k.gudi resort except the jungle safari. The trekking they took was a nice change, it was more like hike for first 30 minutes, then it became a pleasant trek. Overall i'm satisfied with the trip, but have to think twice before going to another jungle lodges.

Route to K.Gudi (B.R.Hills) Jungle lodges and resorts

I made a trip to K.Gudi (B.R Hills) jungle lodges and resorts this weekend (last week may'09). There are few routes possible from bangalore. This is the one i took and i think the shortest (given my residence is in bannerghatta road).

1. Took nice road on bannerghatta road to Kanakapura road (6.5 kms)
2. Keep on kanakapura road which becomes NH-209. Kanakapura, malavalli and kollegal are on the way to B.R.Hills. The road is generally very good even though it is only a 2 lane highway and some patches were under repair work. The distance from nice road kanakapura to kollegal bus stand is 130 kms (2.5 to 3 hr drive).
3. After kollegal bus-stand keep on NH-209 towards chamrajnagar after 3 kms there is a road starting towards B.R.Hills (signs are there) just before a bridge.
4. This road is good for 4 kms and next 8 kms is generally bad (with patches being good), then next 8 kms it is generally okay (with patches being bad). This road goes thru many villages and hits a T-junction at a point where you'll have to take a left. (45 mins drive).
5. After 20 kms on the road you'll enter B.R.T hills sanctuary area where there is a checkpoint. Road is pretty good here and for next 13 kms you'll keep driving and just 2 kms before B.R.Hills you'll see a road (signs are there for jungle lodges) on left. Another 17 kms drive brings you to the K.Gudi jungle lodges. (45 mins drive).

Total distance from nice road intersection of kanakapura road to K.Gudi is 174 kms and 4.5 hrs drive.

The other alternate route possible is take mysore road till maddur and take SH-33 highway from maddur towards malavalli which merges into NH-209 at malavalli. Follow the rest of the route the same.

One more alternate route possible is drive to mysore and from there to chamrajnagar via nanjangud. Chamrajnagar - BR.Hills highway passes thru K.Gudi (28 kms from chamrajnagar).

One variation possible on kollegal route is continue on NH-209 till yelandur and from there go towards B.R.Hills - i did not try this route and this is what is shown on jungle lodges website.