America
Neeta Bhushan rids chances of corruption at the consulate in Chicago (Jatinder Singh Bedi)
By
Jatinder Singh BediCHICAGO - Neeta Bhushan, outgoing Consul General of India in Chicago, is a woman of steel. Her legacy as CG will ensure that corruption will not revisit the Consulate, and it shall remain a ‘guardian’ to the NRIs.
A great organizer, she put into effect numerous great initiatives
all through. Many of these shall go into annals of history for having far
reaching positive consequences for
NB is her initialism. NB means Neeta Bhushan. It also means
‘Neat Business.’ As if the Pied Piper of Hamlin, the economist in Neeta Bhushan
drove entire
From the very onset, Neeta Bhushan started with a bang! Yoga Day was her very first signature event that startled the community. Organized in a huge arena, the day-long celebrations were attended by who’s-who of the Midwestern United States. These included several Congressmen, Senators, Corporate Magnets, and Religious leaders. On her behest, a Local Chicago leader reinforced the Yoga Day with a 15-minute long live interview on significant National Public Radio.
In the history of Indian Embassy, Neeta Bhushan has the
singular honor of hosting the Presidential visit to
On Commerce front, the India Business Conference that Neeta
Bhushan organized has been a trendsetter for the local leadership-aspirants.
Its roaring success with over 450 businessmen in attendance was a road-map for
reluctant business organizations to do things the right-way. In a span of few
hours, Consul General Neeta Bhushan delivered an introduction to almost all
Indian states and their industries, and also have American corporate houses participate
in Panel Discussion to seek their way of doing business with
Much to the awe of many, Neeta Bhushan has been omnipresent. That way she has been a community person. There has been no organization, whose event Neeta Bhushan has not attended. Such has been her zeal, as I would find her presiding-over over three functions a day, after attending the full day of her office. More so, none has ever been denied her audience. A regular visitor to the Universities and Academic Institutions, Neeta Bhushan has handled the academia with a astute diplomatic skills.
Neeta Bhushan is an eagle-eyed officer. She knows the community threadbare. She wont delegate the accountability to the experience-lacking untrustworthy. But same time she wont annoy them. She knows how to message whose ego, and when. She could maintain a delicate balance amongst the perpetually warring factions of the community. Her this officer-attribute has resulted in Neeta Bhushan being center of attraction all over the Midwest. She has been the favorite of the elderly and the students alike.
Memory be the measure, Neeta Bhushan has been the most photographed amongst the Consul Generals. Her friendly persona has helped her make deep inroads into region’s Politco-Bureaucratic circles. No wonder she could set a new trend by hosting India’s national functions at Chicago’s venues be it Millennium Park or Harris Theatre pro bono.
But her affable persona shrouds an iron-lady. Neeta Bhushan carries an iron hand with a velvet glove on it. Rather than looking the other side, she would catch the bull by the horns and pin it down. One can define her as a “No Non-sense Officer.” And rightly so! After all she hails from a family of legendary bureaucrats. That way she inherited Administration skills as a ‘Sense of Fact’ from her IAS father. When the need arose, she put these to use as her second nature. Neeta Bhushan was quick to catch the chronic corrupt practices from within the Consulate, pinpoint the responsibility, and execute remedial measures. Such was the wrath of her actions, that the offenders tended to take refuge in the lap to local disparaging rowdies. The Result: Consulate rid of malpractices; and Neeta Bhushan victorious in her stance.
With over 25 years experience in her haversack, Neeta Bhushan is a diplometese personified. Pauses and silences are part of her vocabulary. She masters non-answers, and answers alike. She wont answer when its not needed to. But when she does, her responses are extensive, elaborate and accurate.
She is a prolific speaker. In her speeches she supports her arguments with extensive statistics and data. Neeta Bhushan has been the most sought after in the region as a Key Note Speaker. Recently, she was the keynote speaker at the prestigious Allen Lerner Lecture Series at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Besides, she has also addressed Booth School of Business at University of Chicago; University of South Dakota; and the Purdue University. Alongside US Senator Dick Durbin, US Senator Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and several Congressmen, Neeta Bhushan had the honor of breaking ground for Chicago-located Fermi Lab’s new accelerator project (See the top banner photo). This PIP-II Particle Accelerator project comprises construction of a 4-story Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment a mile below the earth’s surface with significant components manufactured and contributed by India. This tech know-how will assist India in its domestic accelerator program especially Indian Spallation Neutron Source Initiative.
All said and done: ‘Sagacious’ is her one word definition. Sagacious she is, didactic not. What could be a her teaching, I pondered! ‘Carry the ordinary along, but don’t settle for the ordinary,’ I deduced.