So the time finally arrived when I would be fulfilling my almost 6 year old dream of going Euro tripping. I had decided that when I set foot beyond the Indian frontiers, it would first be in Europe. Ever since my mother gave me in principle approval with a condition that I take someone along, I had tirelessly tried convincing friends and foes alike to embark with me on a Europe trip. Needless to say, the efforts were in absolute vain. Either my convincing skills were far from satisfactory or I had a bunch of hopeless people whom I called friends. The end result was that I pined for Europe for 6 years, ever so occasionally planning, 're-'planning and 'de-'planning my trips. Three years ago, I was almost ready with the itinerary and had even found couch-surfers to host me in Paris and Berlin. But God had other ideas for me in store. I got a job and was on probation which meant no holidays for a few months. I had literally tried convincing almost all the groups of friends I knew - school, college, office, society, etc. But to no avail.
I remember, during my last week at the job, my colleague's tarot reading capabilities were discovered. This was almost 2 years back. We insisted on her doing Tarot readings for us, before she went on her pregnancy leave. So on her last day at work, we all gathered around her while she laid out the cards. I don't have much faith in these stunts and hence asked her a question which didn't have much bearing on my life - 'Would I be able to visit Europe before I turned 25?' She looked at the card I had drawn and positively answered, 'Yes and a friend will help you'. That elated me momentarily and I forgot about it soon thereafter.
In February, this year, a friend of mine asked me join him for a trip to Europe. I took a month before I said yes, my colleague's prediction constantly at the back of my mind. It was as she had said. I was 24, well below the 25 age mark I had set myself and here was a friend offering to help me with the execution of the trip. It took me some time to decide. I decided to go on the trip pretty late. I was waiting for my results and since I hadn't qualified for the interview, I was now free to go.
I was to fly out on the 31st of March. And it was already the 18th. I had to apply for a visa! We made a rough itinerary and applied to the German Consulate in Mumbai through VFS. They took 2 days to process it. At the end of the 3rd day, the verdict was - Visa rejected! Apparently they found my documents unreliable and they couldn't ascertain my intention to return back home. What irked me was they not having called me even for an interview. Here I was, a simple lad, who was really enthusiastic to visit Europe and they with a swipe of their pen, crushed my dreams. It was 24th already. We decided to change the itinerary, make proper bookings, give detailed information and reapply the next day, which was a Tuesday. My flight was on Sunday night.
I applied again on Tuesday. Now all I could do was wait. I had put all my other preparations on hold. Packing my bag wasn't even on my mind. To some extent, the first rejection had reduced my enthusiasm and interest in the trip. In the meanwhile we tried seeing if we had any contacts at the German consulate. We also considered applying through the Italians as we had some friends there. A friend enquired the next day in the morning, even before I had woken up. The only information that came out of the call was that my application had been processed but the result was still a suspense. I decided to leave for the VFS office even before my status was updated. By the time I reached there, my letter had reached VFS. Everyone there, right from the security guards to the lady who accepted my application, was curious. She actually asked me to open it there itself and let her know the result. I did.
I was going to Europe! What followed were celebratory calls to everyone. I had to now speed up my preparations. Sunday took its own sweet time to arrive. There I was at the new T2 terminal. Yes, it's beautiful. I ambled around taking in the ambiance. I was ready to fly. I was ready to cross the Indian frontier. I was ready to Europe!
I applied again on Tuesday. Now all I could do was wait. I had put all my other preparations on hold. Packing my bag wasn't even on my mind. To some extent, the first rejection had reduced my enthusiasm and interest in the trip. In the meanwhile we tried seeing if we had any contacts at the German consulate. We also considered applying through the Italians as we had some friends there. A friend enquired the next day in the morning, even before I had woken up. The only information that came out of the call was that my application had been processed but the result was still a suspense. I decided to leave for the VFS office even before my status was updated. By the time I reached there, my letter had reached VFS. Everyone there, right from the security guards to the lady who accepted my application, was curious. She actually asked me to open it there itself and let her know the result. I did.
I was going to Europe! What followed were celebratory calls to everyone. I had to now speed up my preparations. Sunday took its own sweet time to arrive. There I was at the new T2 terminal. Yes, it's beautiful. I ambled around taking in the ambiance. I was ready to fly. I was ready to cross the Indian frontier. I was ready to Europe!
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