After only a day spent mindlessly floating between my baby nephew and other family, I was reminded that I needed to get legit a.s.a.p. before I had to leave for Goa where nothing serious could be taken care of :)
That meant getting a cell phone (since even rickshaw drivers have one!), getting a bank account and a PAN card (sorta like a social security #). All of this was easier than I thought -- in the new rapidly developing India. I was able to get a Hutch cell phone account for a measly $15 deposit and $6 monthly rental (outgoing call charges are extra but cost peanuts). And the PAN card (government) administrators were so accomodating -- they even let me come back a few days later, dig up my form and edit some info! I realized that may not have been possible in the U.S. Applying for a DMAT (stock trading) account was not quite as fun however, as I was introduced to the age-old bureaucratic tradition of signing in triplicate! They also make you sign your name across your photographs in India for some anti-fraud related reason.
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