7 am in clock & I left for the US consulate in Begumpet in Hyderabad, India. The scheduled interview time was 8 am. I applied at Hyderabad consulate with the belief that applicants must be few as compared to at other consulates like Delhi/Mumbai/Chennai/Mumbai( of course I don't like Kolkata). But when I reached there, the reality easily outnumbered my belief. Almost all of them belonged to Andhra Pradesh except few like me. It seemed as if I am queuing up for a big entrance examination. Most of the applicants appeared to come directly from temples as the Sindhur on their forehead was very much prominent. All look tensed. They seemed more tensed than a Viswanathan Anand in front of a chess board, degree of silence was more than that of Dr Manmohan Singh. I felt like the student having the lowest IQ/worst preparation for a test.
Chilkur balaji??? I exclaimed.... He said Chilkur Balaji is also known as Visa god/Visa Balaji. Before going for the Visa interview, the Hyderabadis worship the Visa Balaji. I just couldn't resist my curiosity & checked it google.. I found the following from the wiki page.
Approximately, 75,000 to a lakh devotees visit the shrine during the week, but on Fridays and Saturdays, the temple gets close the cumulative of a week. Many of whom come to pray to Balaji for visas to travel or move to the US and other Western countries. And its head priest Gopala Krishna is instrumental for the temples popularity as Visa God.''
Fortunately my aunt was with me to share some of her thoughts on the hyderabadi applicants. According to her, in last 15 years, she hasn't seen a single middle class Telugu family from which nobody has gone to USA for a higher course. Going to USA is a matter of prestige for Telugu families especially in Hyderabad !! Most of them go for a MS course just after the Btech course !! The most interesting fact is that it is extremely hard to get a bride for a hyderabadi boy not having a USA tag. So nothing is more embarrassing than getting denied because of an educational issue.
It was 8.30 in the clock when I was finally allowed to stand in the queue for the interview. Out of curiosity I started conversation with the guy standing in front of me. As expected, he was going to University of Akron, Ohio for his MS !! After few minutes, the girl who was behind me asks me '' excuse me, are you going for MS?'' .... after clarifying my case to her I asked her about her purpose of visit.... no prize for guessing..it was MS again!!!! She said almost 30-40% of her batch mates have applied for that MS degree.. She even told that her boy friend went to USA last year !!! [I never expected a stranger girl to talk to me about her boy friend] ;) .Massive brain-drain !!.. I assumed them to be super rich guys who are going for MS for 2 years. But when I eared the interview of the front guy, I listened something interesting.
Consular officer: So Mr Venkat, Who'll be sponsoring you during your stay in USA?
Venkat : My father's annual income is 400k INR/annum & I have a bank loan of 20 lakh INR !!!!!!!
Immediately I looked back to the girl named Vijaylaxmi. I asked her whether she has gone for any loan. She said its 15 lakh INR !!!!! Now my belief about Hyderabadis got consolidated. Anyways my interview went in a smooth manner & I was granted. Very Next day,I met one of my best friends Amit. he asked me whether I went to Chilkur balaji temple !!!!
Chilkur balaji??? I exclaimed.... He said Chilkur Balaji is also known as Visa god/Visa Balaji. Before going for the Visa interview, the Hyderabadis worship the Visa Balaji. I just couldn't resist my curiosity & checked it google.. I found the following from the wiki page.''Chilkur Balaji Temple popularly known as Visa Balaji Temple or Visa God , is an ancient Hindu temple of Lord Balaji on the banks of Osman Sagar Lake near Hyderabad, India. It is 33 Kms away from Mehedipatnam. The Balaji temple is one of the oldest temples in the Telangana region built during the time of Madanna and Akkanna, the uncles of Bhakta Ramadas.
Approximately, 75,000 to a lakh devotees visit the shrine during the week, but on Fridays and Saturdays, the temple gets close the cumulative of a week. Many of whom come to pray to Balaji for visas to travel or move to the US and other Western countries. And its head priest Gopala Krishna is instrumental for the temples popularity as Visa God.''It is really hard to believe the fact that there are temples for visa interviews. In fact there are 3 more such temples in India. But it is the Chilkur balaji which has the highest success rate. It just shows how desperate some of the Hyderabadis are. I am not writing anything offensive but degree of desperation they are showing is hard to digest. It would have been fairly normal to go to visa interview in an usual manner. But to do the same with 20-25 lakh bank loan & worships at the visa Balaji temple is little funny. I am not criticizing them for going USA for higher education(as I am also in the race), in fact it is the level of obsession & desperation for it which irritates my grey matter the most. It just creates an impression as if USA is indispensable for us. So it is just a simple suggestion to all the hyderabadis in a friendly manner ... ''Don't be over-desperate for USA... go, use their system & come back to India (Brain gain).... if they deny visa, just work in India & show that they have done a mistake by not issuing the visa''
[PS: I am not typing this stuff as I my application didn't get rejected. it is just a realization. I hope nothing in this article is cardiotoxic .. In case it has hurt any person, I apologize from the bottom of the heart]
