Thursday 7th Feb - Day 4

It's still a little chilly and overcast in India, at least where I am anyway. I didn't expect it to be this mild. Good job I bought one jumper, woolly hat and gloves. I find my over relianace on central heating back home is going to be my downfall. My body is not good at keeping me warm and probably not that great at keeping me cool when necessary either.

Today I get to see how lawyers work in India. It seems that everyone needs a lawyer for one reason or another. Everthig you can think of, involving bureaucracy, they get involved in. It could be advice or help in litigation. I travel by car with my aunt to the law courts. She asks me why I'm wearing my seat belt ? I can't remember what I said, but fear does that to you.

Arriving at the courtyard of complex, there are a number of buildings including the courts, a police station and licensing / passport application office or such like. We walk towards a group of single-storey buildings in the middle. There are about four rows of twenty small offices. Each seems to belong to a lawyer, photocopying service or somekind of typing service. We walk into one of the offices and sit down waiting our turn. There's not much privacy as other people are also waiting in the very same room in order to speak to a lawyer. Eventually, there are four people from the office there. Firstly, its the typist/secretary; next, what appears to be a junior lawyer; then a lawyer and finally, the Senior lawyer. Firstly, you speak to a lawyer; next, the secretary types what he is told to type and keeps a diary; the junior lawyer and lawyer proof read what he has typed and, then the senior lawyer looks at the documentation that is to go in the file and is the front man if the case actually gets to the court. The file is then signed, stamped with something that looks like postage stamps and it all looks very official to the onlooker. I had a little glance at 'our file' (nothing too serious) but despite four people being invloved with this process it was littered with spelling mistakes and sentences that didn't quite make sense. This doesn't stop the lawyer collecting his money every visit. Nothing is done on computer and everything is tyed on old fashioned typewriters.

That was two hours of sitting around waiting, fifteen minutes with the lawyer and new appointment for the next time. Sorry I can't be there - not ! But I was glad to witness it.

On the way back home we stop to have the car looked at - it seems to be making noises. A group of eager young apprentices huddle round the engine and start jacking the car up, unscrewing bolts with spanners and shaking the engine. It must be a plate of somekind they suggest. We resolve to come back another day when the chief mechanic is there.