My friend and colleague, Julia, who is currently completing her dissertation research in Jaipur, has generously written up her visa renewal experience. She describes a process significantly different than what I went through in Delhi, but it backs up my earlier assertion: nothing would ever get done without the help of AIIS in general, and Kumarji in specific.
Julia's Advice:
My main advice for getting the visa renewed at your local FRO is to have all of the Indian administrators in your life on speed dial on your mobile phone, ready to talk with any bureaucrats you encounter. If we hadn't had the local AIIS office helping us, we would have been completely lost, and would have wasted an enormous amount of time to frittering, waiting in offices, and running back and forth gathering bits of paperwork. Having AIIS's assistance also helped avoid the awkward question of whether, and to whom, to offer some "additional under the table fees." I don't know if AIIS just has the system figured out, or if they're greasing the wheels somewhere, but those issues never came up.
First, about two months before our visas expired, we went to visit Kumar, the office administrator at the AIIS's offices in Jaipur, affiliated with their language program. Because AIIS deals with an enormous amount of volume in bureaucractic visa work in Jaipur, Kumar knows the ropes--he knows the peons who can get you the right guy to talk to and the FRO office people have his number. He told us that it was too early to apply, and that they wouldn't take our forms yet, saving us a trip to the FRO. Several weeks later, we arrived at the FRO in Jaipur, where they told us they couldn't renew my research visa. I told them they could, they told me they couldn't, and that I needed to go to Delhi. It was pretty clear that the main issue was a lack of experience with research visas, so I called the person in charge of junior scholars at the Fulbright offices in Delhi and handed the phone to the FRO guys. She convinced them that what we wanted was possible. Then I talked a bit about how I knew Kumar, and we had tea with the FRO guys, and after some last minute photocopying of forms we needed, they took our paperwork--and, disconcertingly, our passports. They were dreadfully vague about when we would see our passports again--"you know," they said, "the Indian government is so slow." I got the mobile number for one of the FRO guys and we went on our way.
At this point, our paperwork was sent to the Secretariat, the state government offices, for approval. Several days after dropping the forms (on Kumar's instructions), I called the guy at the FRO to confirm that the forms had been sent and to get our paperwork's "dispatch" number, so that we could find the forms at the Secretariat. About two weeks later, we went--WITH KUMAR--to the Secretariat, where he talked to the right guys to actually get our forms out of the paperwork piles and moving along; without this, he said, our paperwork never would have moved. Do NOT go to the Secretariat for the first time by yourself; it is really huge and overwhelming. Without Kumar we literally would not have been able to figure out how to get in the door. They told us to return a few days later for our completed forms and passports. We did. We actually SAW our passports move from desk to desk, getting signed and written on, but after a several hour wait, it turned out that "Sahib," whose signature was necessary, wasn't in, and we had to return the following day when, at last, we received our passports and other paperwork in a sealed brown envelope, which Kumar had instructed us not to open.
At this point, we brought the envelope across the city, back to the FRO, where they opened it, stamped up our visas and our "residence permits" and signed everything twice.
From dropping off our forms and passports to having our passports, with visas, in hand, took about 3 weeks, total. This included both an extension of my research visa and of my partner's dependent spousal entry visa. It's a little terrifying being without your passport for that amount of time; make color copies if you haven't already, and don't plan any travel for that period.
Showing posts with label Jaipur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jaipur. Show all posts
Friday, September 3, 2010
Sunday, April 26, 2009
अठसठी इमारती (Athsathi Imarat)
The Athsathi Imarat (3-1/2 year Building Accounts) consist of account summaries for materials, wages, religious/charitable donations, and tehshil collections/expenditures for a specified period. Here is an example page, translation is below.
Translation:
Vikram Samvat 1785
Expeditures: Materials/Wages
Observatory (जंत्र)
2802-11-0 [Rupees-Annas-Paise]
Materials (मसाला) used in Observatory]
1401-15-0
Stone
341-4-0
Lime
348-1-2
Unslaked Lime
587-3-2
Gravel/Stone
18-10-0
[list of materials continued on verso]
(Material at right of page: dedication to Rama, note that this folio belongs to Athsathi records for the city of Sawai Jaipur)
Translation:
Vikram Samvat 1785
Expeditures: Materials/Wages
Observatory (जंत्र)
2802-11-0 [Rupees-Annas-Paise]
Materials (मसाला) used in Observatory]
1401-15-0
Stone
341-4-0
Lime
348-1-2
Unslaked Lime
587-3-2
Gravel/Stone
18-10-0
[list of materials continued on verso]
(Material at right of page: dedication to Rama, note that this folio belongs to Athsathi records for the city of Sawai Jaipur)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Karkhana Records at RSA
Many Jaipur State records at the Rajasthan State Archives are catalogued only minimally. There exists a series of handwritten, hardbound catalogues, listing out the holdings. Catalogue No. 23 deals with the Jaipur State karkhana holdings. Here, I have listed out the various khana records available at RSA.
Catalogue No. 23 जयपुर स्टेट कारखाना (जमा-खर्च) Jaipur State Karkhanas (Income/Expenditure)
Khanas Catalogued:
अवद खाना (Awad Khana)
इमारत खाना (Imarat Khana) Building Department
रंग खाना (Rang Khana) Paint, Dyes, Colors
औखद खाना (Aukhad Khana)
किरकरा खाना (Kirkiri Khana) Jewelry Department
कोष ग्रह (Kosh Graha) Treasury
खुशबू खाना (Kushbū Khana) Scents Department
खयाल खाना (Khyaal Khana) Chess, Chaupar, etc.
गुणीजन खाना (Gunijan Khana) beg. 1816, Musicians
गऊ खाना (Gu/Gaya Khana) Cows
चिज ग्रह (Chiza Khana)
छापा खाना (Chaapa Khana) Printing
जरगर खाना (Jaragar Khana) Gold and silver articles
जीन खाना (Jīn Khana) Saddles, Bridles
तोप खाना (Topa Khana)
तंबल खाना (Tambul Khana) Betel leaves and vessels
तोषा खाना (Tosha Khana) Presents, valuable cloth, shawls, embroidery
चित्र ग्रह (Chitra Graha)
पखाल खाना (Pakhal Khana)
पालकी खाना (Palki Khana) Sedan chairs (later becomes Buggy Khana)
पोथी खाना (Pothikhana) Books, Manuscripts
पात्र खाना (Patra Khana)
फ़रास खाना (Farash Khana) Carpets, Tents
फ़ील खाना (Fīl Khana) Elephants
मसाल खाना (Mashal Khana) Torches
मेवा खाना (Meva Khana)
रसोई खाना (Rusoi Khana) Kitchen
रत्न खाना (Ratn Khana) Jewels
वस्त्र ग्रह (Vastra Graha)
सीलेह खाना (Sileh Khana) Armor
सोधा खाना (Sodha Khana)
शिलकार खाना (Shikar Khana) Hunting animals
सूरत खाना (Surati Khana) Paintings
सूत्र खाना (Sutra Khana) Camels
दाग धोड़ा (Dag Dhodha)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Rajasthan State Archives
A descriptive list of the Partapgarh Mahkmakhas, English record, 1800 to 1950 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1994).
A descriptive list of the Chief Commissioner Office, Ajmer, General Branch, 1948 to 1952 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1994).
A list of Bundi English record, 1901 to 1946-47 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1993).
A descriptive list of the Chief Commissioner Office,
A list of Bundi English record, 1901 to 1946-47 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1993).
A descriptive list of the Partapgarh Mahkmakhas English record, 1800 to 1950 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (
Jodhapura rājya patra vyavahāra. by
Udayapura rājya kī Kiśanagaṛha, Koṭā, Bādhogaṛha (Rīvāṃ), evaṃ Bīkānera se prāpta kharītoṃ kī vivaraṇātmaka sūcī, saṃvat 1896-1950. by
A descriptive list of the Bikaner Mahkmakhas, English record, Army Department, 1914-1947 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1989).
A list of English records of Mahakmakhas, Jaisalmer, 1891 to 1950 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1984).
A list of the English record of the Jodhpur Mahakmakhas. by
A descriptive list of the arzdashts (Persian) addressed by the various officials to the rulers of Jaipur, 1707 to 1720 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, 1986).
Koṭā-Būndī Rājya ke kharītoṃ kī vivaraṇātmaka sūcī, Vi. Saṃvat 1771 to 2000. by
Jayapura arjadāśta, Rājasthānī by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rājasthāna Rājya Abhilekhāgāra, 1981).
Kharītā, rājakīya-patra-vyavahāra, Gvāliyara-Jayapura, Bīkānera-Jayapura, evaṃ Karaulī-Jayapura by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rājasthāna Rājya Abhilekhāgāra, 1977).
A descriptive list of
A list of the English records of the Ajmer Commissioner, 1818-1899. by
A descriptive list of the arzdashts (Persian) addressed by the various officials to the rulers of Jaipur, 1658-1707. by
A descriptive list of the Bikaner Mahkmakhas, English record, 1896-1914. by
A descriptive list of the arzdashtas addressed to the rulers of Jaipur (Rajasthani). by
A descriptive list of the khatoot ahalkaran (Rajasthani), 1633 to 1769 A.D. by Rajasthan State Archives. (Rajasthan State Archives, Govt. of Rajasthan, 1975).
A descriptive list of the vakil reports addressed to the rulers of Jaipur. by
A descriptive list of farmans, manshurs by Rajasthan State Archives. (1962).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
