A visit to the police station

Paid my first visit to a police station and a cinema since I have been back in Delhi.

The visit to the police station was for the Tenant Verification Form. This is filled by the Landlord (or his/her Estate Agent) with the details of the rented property and that of an individual known to the tenant and staying locally.

The Delhi Police (motto: Citizens First) is then supposed to verify the tenants' details within a week.

Unfortunately, that doesn't happen often - sometimes with a not-so-pleasant outcome. In 2008, police sat on similar forms related to a property in Batla House in South Delhi for more than a month. The tenants were later alleged to have been involved in bomb blasts in Delhi and gunned down by the police.

That encounter followed deep soul-searching and a strong commitment to follow the procedures more rigorously........A year later, that continues to be only a commitment.

My visit to the police station explained why. For about 20 minutes or so, I moved between Register Office, Record Office and Duty Office without anyone willing to look at the form.

My 87-year-old landlord had told me the cops couldn't find any contact address in the copy of my passport and wanted me to come in.

The Duty Office finally relented and looked at the form. "This doesn't have a residence proof?" Sir, I have returned from the UK after 10 years - so there are no phone bills or water bills or any other local identity.

"Then, how will we search you?," he asked. Maybe this can help, I said, showing him my Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. "This has the UK address. We cannot be expected to go to the UK looking for you".

I then told him about my Dad's address, which was provided in the form. "Get a copy of his Voter's Identity Card or Ration Card then. That should be fine".

On trying to find out why a tenancy that involved me needed to have my Dad's documents attached to it. "Surely, a lot of people must be coming in who do not have a city connection. What do you do then?" I asked

The cop said that such people have to get their embassy to fill up a form and submit it to the police.

I didn't want to say it but all that the cops seemed to focus on was a person to hang upside down and beat the hell out of, should something happen. If there was a serious intent in verifying a tenant, the cops would come to the house and confirm the details.

They didn't seem to be in a hurry and couldn't convince me either I should bother.

So, I decided to spend the rest of day at the DLF Mall in Vasant Kunj. The mall is home to DLF Emporio, which calls itself Asia's Finest Luxury Destination with brands like Armani, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Dolce & Gabbana, Chopard, DKNY and Burberry displaying their wares in it. It also has a cineplex which was a screening a decent choice of films.

Unfortunately, tickets for the film we wanted to see was not available at this cineplex. So, we spent some time looking around before moving closer home to the single-screen PVR Priya.

When I was in college, PVR Priya was one of the first cinemas to modernise - with a state-of-art sound system, cleaner interiors and good popcorn. It is still reasonably good but screens different films at different times.

We chose to watch Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani - directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, who has directed one of my favourite comedies, Andaz Apna Apna. The film has had a good opening week and was getting loads of laughs yesterday as well.

But both me and my better half were not impressed. It has too many cheap jokes, too many bad actors and too flimsy a narrative. The songs were a saving grace, but couldn't entice you for the film's three hours' duration.

As for my daughter, she was chanting "Papa, ghar chalo" (Daddy, let's go home) within the first 30 minutes!