As if its not enough that one has to deal with the loss of both the parents within just over one month, one has to personally go and inform each agency, utility, bank and every institution that please to note both are no more. Worse still, every agency and institution then goes on to erase their records. Makes you want to slap them, hello they are no more, but they lived here, contributed and now the agencies are eager to erase their records. Strange is life.

Meanwhile, as one goes with an application to every agency it is a grave reminder of how our country has remained detached from technology, data and coping with the modern day demands. My being a single woman, who has no identity of her own, who has to leave aside everything and dedicate at least an hour on an average at every agency and is NOT taken seriously, especially if unaccompanied by a male is highlighted every single time.

I am time and again asked if I am single, then why no male? And when there has been a male as if its a ticket to paradise, my work gets done in a jiffy. Else I have had to wait for an hour on an average.

This country is just NOT prepared for the single working people. right form the postal services, gas company to courier, your life is a naught because none of the services cater to the working professionals without families. All of these services catered to ‘families’, guaranteeing someone would remain at home to take calls, be there to attend to the services. Now that I go to work from 3.00-11.00pm, when the house is shut, post delivery person will sure shot come to deliver the mail in that time. Then one has to make a special trip to the main post office of one’s area and go on various floors, from first level to the basement.

Try asking each agency do they consider about single working people who have NO relative at home and if they could put the mail directly in the post box or hand over to the immediate neighbour, they ask you to make a visit before 10.30am and speak directly with the postman, nodal person of that agency, if they consider your difficulty. Or usual response, ‘no madam, nothing can be done.’

As for the erasing records, it is less said the better. My only grouse is, we are in the modern days. Everything is computerised, all our records are now on the system and the BMC is the agency which hands over the death certificate, why can’t they all be interlinked and just send out the alert to other agencies -gas, utilities, etc that the person name, DOB, DOD, etc is no more. The onus is on the off spring, kin to do this all, is more traumatic and unnerving. Apart from saving a whole lot of time, it also makes every process transparent and legal.