A classic bottleneck is created in passport offices when people arrive with incomplete paperwork. File pic

Yesterday, I undertook one of those awful chores that you never really want to do, especially if you are someone who balks at bureaucracy and is allergic to officialese. I went to the passport office here in Dehradun to get my passport renewed. The appointment was for 2.30 pm, so my father and I reached there just before 2 pm, unsure of the system, of queues and so on. It was all very different 10 years ago.