All this discussion about registering one's birth in Portugal, reminded me of an incident that happened to me in Goa. My since-deceased Uncle told me that it was mandatory that I registered my baptism, marriage etc, and also those of my wife and children and get certificates from our Parish in Goa..
I was born, baptised and got married in a foreign country. So I got all my certificates together and went to see our Parish priest. He told me to get all my certificates validated at the Bishops House in Altinho. There, one of the priests referred to some ledgers and satisfying himself that my certicates were legitimate, he endorsed each of them and referred me back to my local parish. Back to see the Parish priest. He accepted the certificates and told me to come back in 3 weeks. I thanked him and told him that I was returning abroad in two days, but I would send a relative to pick up the certificates. I paid the requisite fees. Then, I pulled out a bottle of local whisky which I had brought as a gift for the Priest. His eyes lit up. "When are you leaving ?" he asked again..When I told him that it would be in two days time, he asked me to come the very next day, as he would have the certificates ready. Now, no bribe was intended or given. It was a gift, in appreciation for other things that the Priest had done for me. But I was taken aback that a task that was supposed to take 3 weeks was done in 24 hours all because of a bottle of cheap whisky ! Now, i have a bunch of certificates issed by my Parish priest and dont know what they are useful for. Anybody have any thoughts on this ?
