We are sitting in the VFS visa office in Bangalore. It is a long room. With small office windows on each side with the names of different countries on them. France, Germany, Sweden, Malta, Switzerland, the boards read. There are no windows in case we realise how time is passing. The lights are white and bright. The chairs face a blank wall. Everyone looks bored or troubled.

We have been here before but every time is a new adventure. Nothing happens for very long. Then your token number is called. You think you are prepared. You did everything that was asked. Yet there is a new type of document you don’t know how to possibly get. You run around. Pay 150 Rs. for a printout, make a few calls, submit enough documents for a citizenship and cross your fingers for a 2 week visa.

Despite my best efforts to delay us, we have reached on time and are waiting for our turn. As we are waiting our turn, I see an acquaintance who apparently made millions selling her company recently. She is looking tense and running around for documents. I am terrified that no matter what you do there is no way to escape this drudgery. I am also silently glad that there is no way to escape this drudgery.

A few weeks back, Advaith, my husband sent me an email with all the documents I am supposed to carry for this visa appointment. We both work from home so I walked over from my desk to his asking him why he was sending me emails. He read aloud the mail again, “Please make sure all the documents are ready in time.” I pretended all the reminding was not necessary. But it definitely was.