Sunday Levity: Where’s the visa?

The traveller arrived at the five-star hotel close to midnight. His Indian passport was in his shirt pocket. The hotel receptionist checked him in, doing the usual thing with the credit card, frequent flyer card and passport. The guest was shown into the room. Minutes later, the receptionist called the guest. Would he kindly let them have the passport again for they seemed to have missed a detail.

Government rules require you to have one

The traveller arrived at the five-star hotel close to midnight. His Indian passport was in his shirt pocket. The hotel receptionist checked him in, doing the usual thing with the credit card, frequent flyer card and passport. The guest was shown into the room.

Minutes later, the receptionist called the guest. Would he kindly let them have the passport again for they seemed to have missed a detail. The bellboy came up to pick up the passport, promising to return in five minutes.

The five minutes extended to thirty. Keen to hit the sack after a long flight, and still seeing no sign of the passport, the guest called the reception, to be told that they couldn’t find the visa number.

“Visa number? What visa number?” asked the guest.

“Indian visa, sir”, replied the receptionist. Very politely.

“Ah!”, said the guest. “But you do see that it’s an Indian passport, do you?”

“Yes sir, but government rules require us to note down the visa number, sir” came the polite reply. “We can’t find the visa sir”

“Put me to your manager please!”

11 thoughts on “Sunday Levity: Where’s the visa?”

  3. Anuj,

    Yes, it’s a true story.

    Rishi,

    Yes it’s in India. But that really shouldn’t matter, no?

  7. And cant the person have an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) who get “Multiple entry, multi-purpose life long visa to visit India”
    ???

    Is s/he a citizen or a dual ?

  8. Aas,

    Does OCI entitle the person to an Indian passport? I think not, for why would the holder then need a multiple entry, multi-purpose, lifelong visa to visit India?

  9. Don’t get this story, why do you need to get the Indian passport checked to check into a hotel in India?

  10. aas, even if the person has an OCI or PIO card, there won’t be a visa stamp on the card (more like passport like booklet).

    I think it goes to the phenomena of projecting who has the status/money to enjoy luxuries – first class air travel or stay at a five star. Normally one wont’ see an Indian face. Hence the requirement for visa number for all five star hotel patrons by our babus.

  11. Chandra,

    I think it goes to the phenomena of projecting who has the status/money to enjoy luxuries – first class air travel or stay at a five star. Normally one wont’ see an Indian face.

    My own observation is to the contrary. Overwhelmingly so.

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