Just wondering why do you publish in third person?

Regards.

If I were clever enough, I’d write a whole book about just that one phrase.

Indeed, that’s all part of the fun, isn’t it?

Actually, I was importing the kitten from Thailand, and I was only going to be in Bombay for a few days with her, before continuing on to the US. Before ever calling Bombay airport, or getting the family back in the US involved, I tried calling the Indian consulate in Bangkok. That was an interesting conversation indeed:

Consulate employee: “You want to import a cat into India? Hmmm, I haven’t had a query like this in a long time. Hold on, please.”

Puts receiver down on desk and repeats my query to a colleague in the room, all which I can hear, because I haven’t actually been put on hold. The colleague says “I don’t know! Tell her to go away!”

Consulate employee: “Um I can’t find the answer right now, ma’am. Can you give me one day and call back tomorrow?”

All that said, I have to admit that one thing I love when in India is that sometimes people will NOT hold blindly and steadfastly to the rules, occasionally just at the exact moment when you’re really in a bind and it winds up being your lucky day, because someone has let you by without that one last signture or stamp that you were missing.

Part of the problem with Indian rules is – you never know which rules will be implemented to the letter, and which won’t.

Bizarrely, I was once nearly prevented from *leaving* India because of a missing stamp in my passport – never mind the fact that I had a valid US visa, was living there for the past 4 years and had come on a 2 week holiday to India. It turns out the official was technically right. My passport didn’t have the “emigration clearance not required stamp” on it. Usually this would not matter, but this trip, I was making a 2 day halt in Singapore, which required the stamp – or something like that.

On the other side of the spectrum, I’ve had senior Indian bank officials ask me to state my nationality as “Indian” to help my case in getting a credit card, even though I’m a US citizen (I always decline to do this, and they then usually decline me a credit card)! Their theory – since I look Indian, “it should be ok to say Indian as nationality”.

For anyone importing a pet into India, I found out – after some 20 phone calls to many and various persons at Bombay airport (because my family could not get through to a live human at the Indian consulate in NYC) – that there is some paperwork to be completed ahead of time (which was, at that time, available on the website of the Indian consulate in NYC’s), AND I was told to bring a photo of the animal (a kitten, in this case) with me.

That was before arriving at Bombay airport. Below is a description of what ensued after my plane landed and I had collected my luggage, the only fool in the entire arrivals hall making her way to the Red Channel:

I approach one customs man and smile, saying: “Hello, I’m here to declare this cat.”

“Vaaaaat is in your luggage?”

“Um, no, sir, I’m not here about the luggage, I’m here about this cat. She has her papers and all her injections.” (Holding up thick dossier.)

“Vaaat? You have injections?”

“No, no, sir, I have this cat, and SHE has had her necessary injections.”

Wave of hand in kitten’s direction. “Cat is ok. Vaaaat is in your luggage?” (Not even looking once at cat nor paperwork.)

Happily, we made it through customs sans problème.

I did find it alarming that no one even looked at her. She could have as well been some endangered species.

Sorry for the confusion. The “returning professionals” is not something you necessarily need to do when you arrive at the airport – its something that’s helpful when your household stuff arrives (usually by ship).

The Indian customs has a “Transfer of Residence” scheme, supposedly for “returning professionals”. This greatly simplifies your customs requirements – it allows a lot more items duty-free. Check out their “official page”:

http://www.geocities.com/indiancustoms/baggagerule/tr.htm