The Lonesome Road

Well, today being a holiday and all, Alok and I decided to finish off a couple of pending jobs. Firstly, we got the affidavit of support typed. That piece of paper basically states that your parents are willing and able to fork out the amount you need to study in a foreign university.

What’s next is the financial document - this is basically from the bank. They look at your assets and give you a certificate saying you are good for a certain amount (of course, in USD).

But that will come later. More important are the transcripts. These are basically the marksheets, broken down semesterwise and subectwise. The marks obtained are also split as Paper, Termwork, Practical and Oral. Basically, it gives a clear picture of the breakup of marks. There are two types of transcripts required - a) college and b)university transcripts.

We managed to finish work on the college transcripts on saturday. All that is left is to get them stamped and sealed. So, today we went to the University.The Pune University campus is a pretty big place. It’s very beautiful - lots of greenery and old world style buildings. The problem is that the roads running through it are snaky and confusing. Unless you’ve been there a few times, chances are pretty good that you will be lost soon. We started the transcript hunt at the enginnering section. As usual - there was no one at the counter. Fortunately, we caught the eye of a lady at another desk and she came over. We told her what we needed. Her reply - Get a form and copies of your marksheets. So, we asked - where are the forms. Pat came the reply : In the publication department. So, off we went looking for the Publication Department. Asking around, we found that it was near the old canteen. Anyway, we managed to find it without too much trouble - but over there we also found a big line. Took us half an hour to get the forms we needed.

Came back to the engineering section,filled in the forms and took them back to the counter. The lady looks at it, makes some squiggles on the paper and tells us to play Rs.660/- at the bank. But before we do this, we have to fill in a challan(receipt). We find the appropriate counter and collect the sheet. This is a form to be filled in quadriplate (I’m not even sure if the word/spelling is correct). You have to fill the amount (in figures and words), what the payment is for, your name and address on all four parts of the paper. One small detail most perople miss here is that you have to get the University part of the challan stamped before you go and pay the money. Stamping done, we go into the bank - and the tail of another line. One boring hour later, two hungry, but happy people emerge with paid challans. Finally, we went back to the counter and handed over the transcript applications and receipts. Hopefully, we will get them next monday.

Back home now. Have to go for a compiler construction class in the evening at 8. Friends insist there is no other way to pass the subject. Anyway, today’s lesson is free - like a demo, so no problem.

The end