[Reader-list] three men and a tenant verification form

[taha at sarai.net]

dear all,

an account of the day I was verified. I'm sure there will be more people
with similar stories to tell...

cheers,

taha

 Last Sunday, as I was returning home after buying some stuff for the
kitchen, Luckvinder Singh my landlord met me. He was looking worried.
He handed me a form for tenant verification that had to be immediately had
to be filled otherwise the Police will create trouble. It was around
eleven in the morning and we decided to meet at one in the afternoon.

The form said, ’Format For Information Of Tenants’. It had three sections.
One to be filled by the  landlord, one by the tenant, and one was the
Acknowledgement Slip to be filled by the police.

The landlord had to give his/her name, occupation with details of office
and phone number,and  residential address with phone number.

The Tenant had to provide four addresses with phone numbers, present,
previous, past and office’s. Date of leaving, details of office,
family details and details of either of the following, Passport, driving
license, Arms License, Ration Card, Voter ID Card, or Income tax [PAN NO]

The Acknowledgement slip had the following details: received from,
son/daughter of, resident of, phone no., intimation of letting out, to
[person’s name], son/daughter of, date diary number, name and designation
and signature of the recipient.

Initially, I was extremely angry, at being subjected to this inspection/
verification. But gradually that anger gave away to frustration. The form
was bi lingual, so everything was in Hindi also. It was a particular
section on family details which particularly irked me. It asked for the
naam [name], umr [age] and sambandh [ralationship] with whom you are
living. Why should the Delhi Police be interested in what kind of
`Sambandh’ I have with the persons I was living with?

Nevertheless I filled the form and went to Lucky [Luckvinder, my landlord]
and this is the conversation that ensued:

Taha: Lucky ji maine form bhar diya hai.
      [I have filled the form, lucky ji]

Lucky : Accha thik hai.
        [All right]

Taha: Aap iska pehla section bhar di jiye mein phir iski photocopy kara ke
      aapko de doonga.
      [please fill the first section, I will make a  Xerox and give it    
   back]

Lucky: Pehla Section ? Woh kya Hai?
       [First Section?! What’s that?]

Taha : Pehle section mein aap se details maangi hain na. Aap bhar deejiyee
main karwa doonga.
       [They are asking details from you too]

Lucky, so far is standing in the first floor landing- all our
conversations from rent to electricity to water bills happen here. He
takes the form from my hand and ushers me inside his house. This is the
first time I’ve been `invited’.  The first room looks like the family
dining area. Lucky is standing at one end of the table and I am standing
beside him, and Lucky is looking at the form. After going through he first
section, he seems worried.  My landlord looks at me and says:

Lucky: Yeh to naam pooch rahe hain ji.
        [They asking for a name]

Taha: To Likh di jiye.
      [So! Write it down]


Lucky writes Smt.. Harcharan kaur.


Lucky: Ye ghar to maa ke naam pe hai.
      [The house is in my Mother’s name]

Lucky: Ab to ye occupation pooch rahein hain with details of office and
phone number
 kya likoon  ji
      [Now, they are asking for details of occupation with phone number of
the office. What should I write?]

I just shrug my shoulders.

Taha: kuch bhi likh di jeeye Lucky ji par jaldi ki jiyee.
    [Please write anything and hurry.]

Lucky: Par mata ji to house wife hain.
       [But my mother is a house- wife]

Taha: To  aap house- wife likh di jiyee.
      [So write that down]

Lucky: Par ji ghar to pitaji ne banwaya tha.
       [But the house was made by my father]

Taha: To?
      [So?]

Lucky: Woh to nahi rahe.
       [He is not alive any more.]

Taha: Lucky ji kuch bhi likh deejiyee.
      [Please write anything]

Lucky: hmmm

Lucky gives a hard looks at the form, looks at me, then looks down,
thinking. After a while, he begins to write down murmuring
.

Lucky: Dekho ji ghar pitaji ka tha, woh hain nahi, maa house wife hain
par widow hain , to main details ke aage widow- wife likh raha hoon.
      [Listen, the house was made by my father but he is no more, my mom
was a house wife but she is a widow now, so I am writing in the
details of office and occupation section-  Widow wife.]

Before I could react, Lucky has written the following-  W/o. Late. Sh
Hardev Singh widow/wife, for the details of office and phone no section.

Lucky: Thik hai naa
       [ Its okay, right?]

Taha : hmmm

Lucky: ab aapko mere saath thane chalna padega
       [Now, you will have to come with me to the Police station with me]

Taha: Thane? kyon?
     [Police Station? But why?]

Lucky: Bas chalna padega
       [you will have to come]

Taha: par Llucky ji maine to form bhar diya hai. Aur yaha pe mere sign
bhi nahi maange hain. Ye mamla to aapke aur police waaloon ke beech ka hai.
Main kyon phasoon isme.
      [Why should I come? They haven’t asked for my signature. It is clearly
between you and the police now.]

Lucky: Nahi nahi thane to chalna padega verification ke liye.
       [No, no but you will have to come to the police station for the
verification]

Taha: Par Lucky ji unhoone verify karna hain to phone kar ke office
mein pooch lein. Main kyon chaloon.
     [Listen! If they have to verify me they can call up my office and do
as they damn well please. Why should I come?]

Lucky: Aaisa hai naa. Mein wahan pe ja ke unko bataon ga ki aap  mere tenant
hain aur woh aapse poochenge ki aap kahan rahete ho.
      [See the thing is,  I will go there and tell them that you are my
tenant and they will ask
you where do you reside?]

Taha : par mein kyon jaoon maine kuch galat information thode he di hai.
       [But why should I go I haven’t given any wrong information.]

Lucky : Dikheye mujhe to yehi kaha gaya hai ki thane le kar aana hai
aapko
     [ Listen, I don’t know all this but I have been told to bring you
along]

Taha: Aajeeb baat hai!
     [That’s strange!!]

Lucky : kuch nahi hoga ji deekihye hum to makan good faith par hi
dete hain. Aap hum ko sharif lage-  hum ne makan de diya. Par ye police
waloon ko kaise samjhain. Woh to saale paise bhi maang rahein hain.
      [Nothing will happen, don’t worry! We rent our place on good faith.
You seemed okay to us so we gave you the house, but the police will
never
understand this. Those buggers even ask for money!]

Taha: Kya Paise? Mein koi paise waise nahi dene wala. Main kyon paise
doon
. Kisliye? Arre bhai information mujhse mangi, maine di, form bhi
maine bhara, jamaa  kar bhi main aaoon aur paise bhi doon. Bhaad mein gaye
main paise nahi doonga.
      [Why should I give money? I have filled the form, given correct
information, I will deposit it and now  I should give money also, no way! ]

Lucky: Ji paise to dene padenge! Maine uper waloon ka form jama karwaya
tha to 50/- rupaye diye the.
      [One has to pay money, I have done the same for the other tenants too!]

Taha: Achha chal kar dekhte hain.
     [Okay lets go and see what happens.]

WE go on Lucky’s scooter to the local police station. Inside,
its not crowded- maybe because it’s a Sunday. Five or six constables are
sitting around and a head constable is going through some files. Lucky
goes and stands there respectfully, hands folded, very subdued. How the
mighty have fallen. I thought.

At the reception desk, a constable is standing. Cap worn like a skull- cap,
shirt is unbuttoned slowly massaging his chest hair-  very Bollywood I
must say.

Constable: Kya hai?
         [What do you want?]

Lucky: Sir ji, ye tenant verify karwana tha.
       [I wanted to verify my tenant, Sir]

Constable: Hmmm

Looks at me from toe to head.

Constable: Hmmm. Form laye ho?
          [Have you bought the forms?]

Lucky: Ji yeh raha.
       [Yes, it is here.]

Gives the form to the constable.

Constable: Par yeh neeche ka to bhara hi nahi.
          [The last section remains to be filled]

He is referring at the acknowledgement section- meant to be filled by them

Taha: Yeh aap ko bharna hai sarkaar.
     [Sir, you will have to fill this]

Constable: Nahi nahi aap hi bhar do mein sign kar doonga.
          [ No, you go ahead and fill it, I will sign it later]


Taha: Lucky ji bhar deejiyee.
      [Please fill the section, Lucky ji]

Lucky : Ab mein kyon bharoon?
       [Why should I fill the form?]

Constable: Aap dono  mein se landlord kaun hai.
          [Who’s the landlord?]

Lucky: Ji meri mata ji .
       [It’s my mom, Sir]

Constable: To tum bharoo.
         [So you fill the form]

Lucky: Ji thi  hai.
      [Okay]

Taha: Arre bhar di jiyee na. kya problem hai.?
      [What’s the problem, fill it]

Lucky reluctantly takes the form back and starts filling it. Mean while
Two other individuals enter the police station. They have a helmet each in
one hand and some papers in the other. The head constable looks at them.
And asks who they want to meet?  To which the first person replied:


Person 1: Zee yee af  I Yaar Likwaanee thee
          [ I had to lodge an FIR, Sir]

His accent a dead giveaway that he was a Malayali residing in Delhi.

Head constable: Ohhooo! Aapne FIR likhwani hai. Sab thik thak to hai
bhaiyya.
            [Is everything all right?]

Person 1 : Zee yeh mobile block karwana tha.
         [I want my cell no to be blocked]

Head Constable: Ohhooo! Mobile block karvane ke liye FIR chahiye. Kya
hua?
             [What happened]

Person11: Zee main red light pe khara tha, ki phone aaya to maine
helmet utaari aur mobile nikala, to mera balance bigad gaya, to koyi aaya
aur mobile cheen  ke bhaag gaya.
       [I was at the red light when somebody came and snatched my mobile
from my hand, while I was speaking]

Head Constable: Ohhooo! Yeh to bahut bura hua bhaiyyaa
               [Bad!]

Person 1: Zeee haan
        [ Yah]

Head constable: Aapko pata hai pichle saal mere saath kya hua tha?.
               [Do you know what happened to me last year?]

Person 1 nods his head in negation.

Head Constable: Ohhooo! Nahi pata. Abhi batata hoon. Pichle saal mein meri
patni ke saath Kumbh ke mele mein gaya tha. Wahan bahut saari bheed thi.
Meri patni ka haath mere haath mein tha. Itne mein bheed ka ek rela aaya
aur meri patni ko mujhse cheen ke le gaya. Mein bhaga. Aur aapni patni ko
pakad ke wapas le aayaa.

             [Last year I went to Allahbad for Kumbh Mela. There was a
huge crowd all around. My wife and me were walking together,
suddenly somebody pushed us from behind and snatched my wife
taking her far away from me. I ran after her. Got hold of her
and bought her back]

Person 1 : Zeee
           [ya]

Head Constable:  To aap ne isi tarah apne mobile ko nahi pakda bhaiyya!
               [So why didn’t you catch your mobile phone in a similar
fashion, brother ]

Person 1 : Zee mein red light pee tha!
        [I was standing at the red light, Sir]

Meanwhile Lucky has completed the form and gives it back to the constable.
The constable looks at it stamp it and signs and give a copy to us. But
leaves the entries, on date, dairy number, name and designation, vacant.

Taha: Pehle yeh bhariye, phir form dijeyee
      [ First fill this then give the form back]

Constable: Nahi nahi iski jaroorat nahi hai.
          [No it’s not required]

Taha: Kaise nahi hai .. yahan likha hai to bharna to padgaa hi

     [Listen, it’s written here so you will have to fill this.]

Constable : Stamp laga diya hai naa .. naam likhne ki zaroorat nahi hai kaam
chal jaayee gaa .
          [It isn’t required I am telling you. I have stamped it.
It’s okay]

Lucky: Arre thik hai na Taha ji 
 kaam ho gaya na. Ab chaliyee
      [It’s alright. The work’s finished. Lets go.]

Lucky drops me home and leaves. As I am climbing the stairs to my flat I
run into the old couple who stay on the second floor. I wish them hello
and ask them whether they have been verified by the police or not.

Uncle: Arre hamne hi to isko (Lucky) bataya. Isko to kuch pata hi nahi
tha.
       [ I told him what to do, he didn’t know a thing]

Taha: Achha [ya]

Uncle : Arre bhai hum bhoodhe retired aadmi. Agar kuch ho jata to?
      [We are old retired people, we don’t want trouble]

Taha: Samajh mein nahi aaya uncle
. Matlab?
     [I don’t understand this.]

Uncle: arre hamare yahan Hindustan Times aata hai.  Usme 2 ya 3 december
ko HT City mein ek article aaya tha. Usme likha tha ki agar tenent aur
landlord ka verification 23 december tak nahi hua to police mein jail ho
jayegi. Aur fine dena padga so alag.
     [ We subscribe to Hindustan Times paper. On 2nd or 3rd of  december
there was a piece in HT city supplement that said, that all the
landlords have to verify there tenants by 23 of december other wise
they will face arrest. They might be fined also.]

Taha: Phir. [so]

Uncle : Phir kya
 padh ke mein dar gaya mein seedhe police thane bhaga aur
form laya, meine bhara or isko bhi bataya. Yeh Lucky ko to pata hi nahi
tha. Maine bataya ke bhar aur upper niche waloon ko bhi bharwa nahi to
police ke saath involve ho jayenge. Koi fayeda hi nahi.
       [So what! After reading the piece I got scared. I went to the
Police Station, got the form, filled it and told Lucky about it. He
didn’t even know all this. I told him to make sure that all the
tenants fill this from. Otherwise we might get involved with the
Police.]

I thank him and go to my flat.


The three of us obviously had different reactions to the form. None wanted
to fill it. Lucky, the reluctant, landlord , the old vulnerable man, and
I. Well! for the sake of Bhagidari we did collaborate with the constable
but I am amazed at the level of fear, suspicion, frustration and
compliance the tenant verification from was able to generate at one level,
 to a total and complete nonchalance at the other.

While the old man self-righteously filled the form and submitted it, the
police constable was least bothered. For the old man the fear of
prosecution was internalised. After reading a News item in the paper, the
only thing he was bothered about, was not getting ‘involved’ with the
police.

While Lucky, on the other hand had not wanted the police to know that he
rents out his place. He was equally scared to write his name on the form.
On two occasions he wrote his mother's name and once even invoked the name
of his dead father, likewise, the constable, didn’t write his name and
designation even when I asked him to. He was also afraid of something. He
hid behind the stamp of the police to justify his anonymity.

I don’t know what will happen to the forms? What sorts of databases will
be made? What they will be used for?
 But for a moment the whole form thing was able to create extreme amount
of frustration, anger, and a feeling of vulnerability in all of us.







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