Birth + Death

No, no deaths to report. "Birth + Death" is what was scrawled across the top of the office where I had to apply for Patrick's local birth certificate. "Office" is a very generous term for the Ward 4A Circle 8 birth and death registration location. What this place actually consisted of is two pieces of plywood cordoning off a section of a run down stairwell. Inside the "office" is a rickety table, two rickety chairs, piles of papers, and two city employees. No phones, no computers, no nothing that looks official. Outside the "office" are five plastic chairs and an old desk with an oil cloth covering that looks like it was affixed in 1936.

How would one know this is the appropriate place to register your newborn (or your dead relative)? Well, a kindergardener kindly took some red paint and scrawled "BIRTH + DEATH" across the top of the plywood entrance. Really, I kid you not. Check back soon for pictures. Oh, yeah, I forgot the two other signs. The first is (in Telugu, though the people in the office mostly speak Hindi since it's the Muslim area of town) a 15 year old city government sponsored poster touting the benefits of a birth certificate (not everyone has one here). The second is an A4 size printed piece of paper with the words: "Timings: 10:30 - 2" and a list of the four hospitals which this particular ward office services.

Stay tuned for the next post of our actual experience at Birth + Death. It's too much to combine.