GETTING A US VISA - 644

                 Getting the all important US Visa 

 Self and Mami were seeking a VISA to the US for attending the Upanayanam of Our Close Relative at Los Angeles in  . Our plan was to go to the US from Regina in Canada where we had planned our usual   annual stay .

All the lengthy but necessary paper work were completed at the VFS and we were asked to present ourselves before the Officer at the US Consulate in Chennai at 11.30 AM on a particular day . By an oversight I had mentioned the Language of Interview as Tamil . Now , my prowess in Tamil is nothing much to write home about and though passable at the spoken level  is very basic in reading and downright poor in the writing skills. 

To more than make up for this shortfall was my wife who holds a Masters Degree in Tamil, Plus a Tamil Pandit  and a Tamil Language Teacher all her working life in a Government  School .
We had rehearsed the answers to the likely questions that we might be asked and were ready for our Interview .
As bad luck would have it , it was a rainy day and we had to make use of an Umbrella.  There was already a big  queue for the 11.30 AM slot and after the elaborate security check where there was an  issues regarding the Umbrella ( its pointed tip seemed to be an issue )  and a CD we carried as part of our document.

We were let into the Consulate after all the Mandatory Checks .

There was a separate kiosk for those choosing  Tamil as the Languge of Interview and it was a Young White  woman smartly clad in a Black Business Suit at the counter who was to interview us . 

We presented our Papers and she  asked a few questions regarding the reason for our visit not in English but in Chaste ⁸ Tamil . My replies in English were overlooked and she asked my wife .

நீங்கள் ஆசிரியராய் வேலை பார்க்கிறீர்களா ? 

உங்களக்கு வேலை பிடித்திருக்கா  ?

நீங்கள் எத்தனை நாட்டல் அமெரிக்காவில் இருக்க போறீர்கள் ?

இன்னும் இரண்டு நாட்களில் விஎஸ் இருந்து உங்கள் பாஸ்ப்போர்ட்டை பெற்று கொள்ளுங்கள் . உங்கள் அமெஅமெரிக்கா பயணம் இனிமையாக அமைய எங்கள் வாழ்த்துக்கள் .

My better half answered all the questions and remarked to her that ,

நீங்கள் ரொம்ப நன்றாகத்தமிழ் பேசுகிறீர்கள் . ஒரு ஆசிரியர் என்ற முறையில் உங்களுக்கு என்னோட வாழ்த்துக்கள் . 

" Neengal Aasiriryar velai paarkirirkalaa "
" ungalukku velai pidittirkaa "
" neengal evalovu naatkal US il thanga pogirirgal "
My wife answered these questions and she said
" innum irandu natkalil VFS il ungalodaya passportii petru koolungal , ungladoya US payanam inimayamaha amaya ennoduya vazhtukkal ."
My teacher wife was equally flummoxed and remarked to the officer  " neengal romba azhagaha Tamizh pesugirirgal ,
Oru aasiriyar muraiyil ungalukku engalodu vaazhtukkal "

We were spellbound by her Chaste Tamil , not a single word of English was used .

We got our 10 year US Visa stamped passport just as mentioned in 2 days .

ABOUT THE ACTUAL US VISIT  , I WILL ELABORATE IN MY NEXT BLOG.