The famous Indian bureaucracy

My boyfriend lived in India for many years. He's a person who has a knack for seeing the most efficient way of doing things - and who cannot see why you'd do things the hard way, when there's an easier way. For this reason, I often wonder how he survived India with his sanity intact.

He's often told me that India loves chaos - a good fuss, paperwork to shuffle, a drama or two to liven up the day. He can produce countless specific instances of this, and I've always listened with amusement - for one thing, because he's the embodiment of the middle England (in the best possible sense, with a dash of benevolent colonialism), but also because I felt the chaos was part of the mystique and charm of India.

I've now had my first direct experience of Indian bureaucracy, in the shape of my visa application. It took me a few nights of research to check how to do this, whittle out all the various agencies offering to do it online, and find the official one. Even the FCO, on their website, appear to have the incorrect web address listed for the 'real' Indian Embassy/High Commission. Then it took some more reading to figure out how to fill the form in.

The worst bit, unexpectedly, was getting the photographs for the visa application. There is a full webpage of specifications for this, setting out everything from the size to the exposure. I was doomed. How does everybody else who goes on holiday to India manage? I concluded I was taking this too seriously. The classic Brit abroad can manage this. Surely with my Master's Degree brain I could sort it out. The first problem is that they require two 50mm x 50mm photos - not the standard passport size. Where on earth would I get those? The answer turned out to be as simple as the Preston Post Office - thanks to a tip from a colleague who's been through this a couple of times.

I turned up at the photo booth. It felt like I was about to take an exam. You know how you sometimes bring about your own worst fears by trying to avoid them? I was so paranoid about trying to get the photos right - with my head in the right position, occupying the right amount of space in the photo - that, of course, I got it wrong. The booth showed me how the photo would look... looked fine... selected that one and a few seconds later it dropped into the collection slot. But the top of my hair was missing. This is a specific no no on the page of requirements. It hadn't been missing when it showed me how it would look. Anyway, that was my first £7 attempt. So I tried again. Another £7. I figured I'd cracked it. But on looking at the pics before sending the application off, I noticed that the edge of the booth was showing in them. It had crept into the edge of the pic because it's much wider than a normal passport photo.

I've no idea how picky they'll be. If they send it back, they send it back. Anyway, I posted it off by Special Delivery on Friday, and despite my lack of confidence that it'll work first time, I had a sense of achievement - another landmark... my first visa for my travels.

First visa... my mind immediately raced ahead to all the others that are to come. Is it too late to get my job back?!