Mitul Rao
CHICAGO: The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) hosted a function at the Atlantis Banquets in Arlington Heights, a Chicago suburb, March30 to acknowledge and salute the services of outgoing Consul General of Indian in Chicago.Neeta Bhushan
The program started with an opening welcome speech by Sunil Shah, the founder President of FIA and the host of the evening, during which he paid handsome tributes to Neeta Bhushan, observing that her “integrity, honesty, sincerity and humility were really of high quality and they set a very high standard for the next Consul General”.
“Her easy accessibility, availability and friendly nature have won the hearts of the people,” Shah said.
Past president of FIA Neil Khot mentioned that during Bhushan’s tenure, technology for particle physics, new methods of poultry farming and developments in the automotive industry were shared with India.
In his speech, Gurmeet Singh Dhalwan of Adbhhut Media, and a co- host of the event, mentioned that his association with the Consul General was a very pleasant one. He wished her the best for all her future endeavors. Onkar Singh Sangha appreciated the Consul General’s unique way of getting things done and how she referred to the people as her own family.
Rita Singh of Women’s Empowerment spoke about how popular Bhushan is and how she never refused any invitation. Orochem CEO Asha Oroskar could not remember any other Consul General who was so helpful with passport and visa issues while being so humble. She also called Bhushan a truly outstanding Indian professional and a role model who nurtured people of business and arts. FIA Advisory Board member Brij Sharma, and community activist Bharat Bhai, also thanked and wished Bhushan the best in her future. Vijay Prabhakar noted that the Consul General was a woman of substance, excellence, strength and courage.
Santosh of Metropolitan Services said that that Bhushan always remained unfazed by criticism. Vineeta Gulabani and Gurbachan Kaur Neelam presented Bhushan with a shawl and bouquets. Beautiful songs were rendered by Manmeet Kaur, Geetanjali Maru, Saurin Thakkar, Forum Thakker and Shirley Kalvakota.
Consul General Bhushan, who served nine states, in her concluding speech, thanked the members of FIA for organizing the event and. Delving into her past, she mentioned that during her tenure in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Narendra Modi made the first Indian prime ministerial to the United Arab Emirates in 34 years. He selected her to be the Consul General of Chicago and she moved within a week to the US. Again, during her tenure here, the Vice President of India visited Chicago
Nita Bhushan presented Sunil Shah with a golden shawl. Bhushan was presented with a plaque from the entire FIA Board members. She was also was given a beautiful bouquet of flowers by Rita Shah, Aishwarya Sharma and FIA lady members.
