Dedicated to all my friends in the U.S. of A., (especially Tyler Monson of O.R.A. and Mike Johnston of The Online Photographer, the latter even half-heartedly interrupting blogging for this occasion), sweating now filling out their tax forms.
1981, after having finished my service in the German army, I started for a lengthy trip through Nepal and India. Extending the visa in both countries was no problem, leaving Nepal was easy as well, just India took it more seriously: Administration was functioning well (and I was warned beforehand), so before being allowed to leave the country after a trip exceeding the simple tourist 3 month period, I had to go to the tax office in Tiruchirapally and meet the officer in charge. My memories are already somewhat faint, but the office was in a semi-high-riser concrete building, dusty and hot even in India winter, and after some benevolent conversation and filing of forms, I received that tax clearance certificate. The original forms were put in a folder, wrapped with official two-color thread and put into the filing room, where I grasped just a glimpse of the piles of files in there – I did’t dare to ask to take a picture at that time.
Anyhow, in comparison to the tax form work I have to do now every year, this really was the most pain free one.
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