Filomena,
You spoiled child !!!! J This country has spoiled us. I was in India during January and for the property related matters we needed death certificates of my grandparents. My grandfather passed away in Goa and Grandmother in Mumbai, both around 1961. My father went to Goa Municipal Corp. He filled out the application for my grandafather's death certificate. He was told it would take six months. When asked why, clerk pointed to a pile of files and said it had to be researched through those files. My father volunteered and went through 1961 file, found the record, showed it to the clerk and got the certificate. I was tasked to get my Grandmother's certificate from Mumbai.Clerk told me six months. Like any law abiding citizen of India, I decided to try bribery. Later on I saw people giving him money at this desk. I was little naïve, so asked him to show me canteen for tea and then slipped fifty rupee note to him. These are his exact words, "I won't lie to you with bohni (the first income of the day) in my hand. Please do not bother coming here again. Files couldn't be accommodated in this office, so we packed them and sent to off site location and now we can't locate them. You are better off filing an affidavit." In Goa, files are at least under the sink. Paresh
