Visa problems in France

The first time I went to France, Air France told me I didn’t need a visa. But when I arrived at the airport in France, the authorities wouldn’t allow me to enter the country. For at least 45 minutes they delayed me!

I had to call the Indian Embassy in Washington. The Ambassador happened to be Bengali. We spoke in Bengali over the phone, and then he spoke to the authorities at the airport.

The people at the airport were so impressed that I was speaking to the Ambassador himself in Bengali. All of a sudden they became very affectionate. They began finding fault with my tie, saying I didn’t know how to put it on properly. Then they fixed it for me.

So first they were harassing me, and then they were fixing my tie!

— 11 December 1984

From:Sri Chinmoy,The world-experience-tree-climber, part 4, Agni Press, 1994
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/we_4