I hate petty bureaucracy, filling forms and the numerous hoops that Indian nationals have to jump through. Even our own country gives us a hard time, let alone a foreign country. I am always amazed by how the NHS in the UK is abused by unscrupulous people and I am addicted to reading a certain paramedic blogger’s account of it. In India, nothing comes for free. If it is free we are instantly suspicious of it. I think paid privileges develop a healthy respect for it.

To go back to the form filling, I am perennially applying for visas for every country in the world. Imagine the amount of paper wasted and the feeling of always being under the microscope. I don’t think the political or immigrant issues with India are going to end in my lifetime. Most countries are either scared of India’s burgeoning population or corrupt practices. The people who suffer are the extremely poor or the ones who toe the line. I have never skipped a visa, smuggled, terrorized or done something unlawful. The price I pay for honesty is hours of forms and visa officers. A steep price for wanting to just travel the world. I do not want any other citizenship. If I live in your country, I pay taxes, don’t receive benefits and renew my visa by paying more than some people’s salaries. I do so because I want to experience the world. However, I often get asked,  ‘So, when are you applying for citizenship?’.  I am quite happy being an Indian national. Thank you. I accept my heritage warts and all. There is a lot more to India than corruption and curry.  If  I promise not to abuse it Can I have a world citizenship please?

A wall painting of a black muslim girl and a white man
An artist’s (Stik) rendition of racial acceptance
I Loathe segregation

On a positive note, there are still things that  I like and love.  I am usually a happy person.

For every blog there are a series of firsts and mine, quite recently, was hosting a competition. I was amazed by all the attention pouring into my blog and I liked seeing my statistics soar! Out of all who entered a good number clicked through to other posts on my blog, even back to 2012! It is quite entertaining to see who clicks on what and where they came from.

Dear Reader, Don’t worry, I can’t see your name. I can only see which part of the world you are from and what attracts you to my blog. On another note, I’ve picked a winner for the Canvas Design UK giveaway and can be seen on  the Rafflecopter widget embedded in the post. I have emailed the winner and will wait for 28 days  for a reply before choosing another winner.

Like
Like

I love discovering the little quirks that London has to offer. Although I have heard about it before, this is the first time I saw the Word on the Water. Unfortunately, I was too early and couldn’t explore. That is one place I have to go to again. The Word on the Water is a Dutch book barge that sells second hand books. I love the smell of a second hand bookshop! Once I’ve visited I promise to write a whole blog post on it.

Love
Love

This post has been added to the Like Love Loathe linky run every Tuesday by Futures

 

Written by Amrita Dasgupta

Written by Amrita Dasgupta - Visit my blog for more food and travel stories
I love to travel, discover new things, experience new cultures and then I get back home and experiment with the new food and recipes I discovered on my travels. My blog is about all those life experiences. If you’ve enjoyed this post, keep in touch with Drifting Traveller on Twitter and Facebook or by adding my blog to your RSS feed. Follow my blog with Bloglovin or Networked Blogs! If you really like reading the Drifting Traveller why not share it with people you know who'd like to read it too.