Work outside the office

 One common sight outside and around Government offices in India is the multiple photocopying shops. Outside any and every government office and even courts, there invariably mushroom numerous shops which basically claim to be photocopying or printing documents.  In reality everyone knows they are basically agents or mediators who facilitate the work for citizens.  

This task of mediation, middlemen doing the running around and seeing to the documentation, and approval of various needs, is a very amusing task - as long as it is not your task that is being done.  Watching these men - and at times, women - glide through the various desks of the actual officials who are appointed by the government to do the job is no less an entertainment than watching a movie in a theatre.  These men and women know the nitty-gritties of the task, the person whom to approach, the procedure that needs to be followed, the amount to be paid (officially and unofficially), the duration (goes without saying that money always speeds up the process) and in a way actually decide the final outcome of one's petition.  

It is interesting to note that these 'agents' know well the officials and the officials know these people too.  Going by oneself, without the aid of the agent, through the process is an option, but the final outcome is not guaranteed or duration never calculable.  Even when the whole process is made digital or online, the tasks of these middlemen is no less or reduced. 

In a true sense, the official work of the governmental offices is carried out outside in these petty shops and in the bylanes surrounding the office.  All said and done, what actually culminates the whole process is the seal and signature of the official inside the office!