Lombard, Illinois: The Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago (PCS) coordinated a luncheon interactive session with the Consul General of India in Chicago, Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, and his consular officers on Saturday, April 2 in Lombard. Nearly 100 persons attended the luncheon, which was hosted by Mohina Ahluwalia, a well-known Chicago entrepreneur and past chairperson of PCS Chicago, who also welcomed the guests and the special guests of honor.
The purpose of this event was to provide a forum to the Punjabi and Sikh community to receive information on the services provided by the Indian Consulate in Chicago, and provide an opportunity to the community members to ask questions directly to the staff in a cordial environment, and to introduce face-to-face the Consul General and his staff to the community they serve.
Prominent among the attendees were PCS officials, sponsors, supporters, community members and leaders of several Punjabi sports and cultural organizations, Sikh Religious Society and Illinois Sikh Community Center, Wheaton, Shiromani Akali Dal USA Midwest youth wing, and members of the Indian-American Diaspora representing different socio-cultural organizations.
Rajinder Singh Mago, convener of the event, briefed the audience on the mission statement of the PCS Chicago organization and its upcoming social and cultural programs like “Rangla Punjab 2016” on April 23, “Graduation and Scholarship Award Night” on June 12, “PCS Sports Festival” in July, “International Bhangra and Giddha Competition” in November, Thanksgiving Day parade in late November, and so on. Mago also introduced Dr. Sayeed to speak to the audience.
Dr. Sayeed addressed the gathering for nearly two hours and expounded on the various consular services being provided by his office in Chicago. He introduced O.P. Meena, Consul (Community Welfare), Rajeshwari Chandrasekaran, Consul (CG Office), Anuradha Negi, Vice-Consul (Visa), and other members of the staff who participated in the event.
Dr. Sayeed spoke about the passport and visa processes, E-Visa, Passport Surrender certificate, P.I.O., O.C.I., and many other day-to-day consular services that his office provides to Indian nationals, the Indian American community, and others in his jurisdiction in the Midwest of U.S.A. from his office in Chicago.
“I and my staff are delighted to make this outreach to the Punjabi and Sikh community to make them aware of the services our office provides, and assure them that our staff is available to help the community and they are an email or a phone call away,” said Dr. Sayeed. He added that people can also contact the consulate through Twitter and Facebook.
Many in the audience appreciated Dr. Sayeed’s deep knowledge about the details of consular services, his unique down to earth and personable mannerism, openness and willingness to be helpful in providing services to the community.
“It is a breath of fresh air and strikingly different compared to many bureaucrats of the past. Being a scientist, a writer and an administrator, Dr. Sayeed is approachable, without any signs of arrogance, a good manager by all standards, and represented best of India in diplomatic corps. I had a very positive experience,” commented one long time resident of Chicago in the audience.
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There was a Q&A session where several passports, visa and OCI related issues were discussed and some constructive suggestions were also given. Dr. Sayeed patiently listened to any grievances or suggestions, answered all questions and gave solutions where possible.
One attendee complained that the current office premises of the visa outsourcing vendor in Chicago where visitors go to collect visa, is not very clean or presentable. “It does not give a very good first impression to the visitors going to India about India,” he said.
Another participant appreciated the clarifications given by Dr. Sayeed on extension of passport services where old Indian passports have not been renewed for several years. “I was told by some third party agents that it costs $3.000-$4,000 to get such passports renewed but now I know that it is not true,” he added.
From one geologist to another, Dr. Hardarshan Singh Valia, Ph.D. in Geology, a world renowned coal scientist who was in attendance, spoke very highly about Dr. Sayeed and presented to him a folder containing samples of his (Valia’s) published work and geology-related articles. Dr. Sayeed, himself is a Ph.D. in geology from Osmania University in India, has published three books, including “Trends in Objective Geology for Civil Services and Other Competitive Examinations” (1990).
Amarpal Singh Matharu presented a book, “Lost Heritage – The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan,” by Amardeep Singh of Singapore to Dr. Sayeed. The author of the book is scheduled to visit Chicago June 9 – 11 to promote the book, and speak and create awareness about the issues of maintenance of Sikh historical sites and gurdwaras in Pakistan.
The Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago is an all volunteer not-for-profit community service organization devoted to promoting Punjabi culture, language, performing arts, education, good citizenship, healthy life style, and sports in the metropolitan Chicago area. For further information, visit www.PCSChicago.org.
Phone: 847-359-5727. Fax: 847-359-1107.