JEDDAH — Indian Consul General Mohd. Nur Rahman Sheikh fondly remembered his three-year journey with his colleague Mohd. Shahid Alam, deputy consul general and consul Haj, who is leaving Jeddah after completing his term at a felicitation ceremony organized by Indian Pilgrim Welfare Forum (IPWF), India Forum and Saudi Indian Business Network (SIBN) here at the consulate premises recently. "We are gathered here with a very heavy heart to bid farewell to our beloved colleague Shahid Alam saab. I've worked with him for the last three and a half years, and have found him a willing worker and an exceptional colleague." Sheikh reminisced on Shahid's baptism in fire in Haj, and said that he proved well up to the task. "In 2015, I had called him on Haj duty, and unfortunately due to the Mina tragedy then, he was entrusted in contacting the families of the deceased and missing, and he handled this task admirably. "Once he joined the post formally he has been contributing to the best of his level, specifically in improving the process of Haj. I believe in the last three years the improvements in the services to the pilgrims have been effected, and a large portion in these improvements I attribute to my colleague's effort. "I would be definitely missing my colleague a lot, but as is the case once we complete our tour of duty we have to go to our new assignments. I can say that Shahid has completed his tenure here very successfully." Sheikh added, while wishing Shahid every success in his future endeavors, "I can only add that the systems, and the institutions that have been put in place will only improve, and I'll not allow any degradation in the quality of services. I'll like to thank the community members and volunteers for their contribution in raising the level of Haj services. "Shahid has also put in a lot of efforts as the school observer and managing the affairs of the schools under him and with the essentials all in place, I'm sure the schools under the consulate jurisdiction with Higher Board member Danish will be managed well. I'll also say that Shahid has put in great efforts in directing the India Forum activities and improving the quality of the forum." Shahid in his farewell speech thanked all for the cooperation and support, which allowed him to carry out his duties clinically. "First and foremost I would like to thank Almighty Allah for giving me the opportunity to work in this holy land and serve the pilgrims. This was the greatest satisfaction of my three years here," he said. "I also want thank all my consulate colleagues for all the cooperation throughout my journey here, especially the Consul General for all his guidance and encouragement. "When we join the IFS, we are not given a formal training on Haj or how to run a forum. It was by chance, when I was posted in Iraq — handling the repatriation of nurses — that I met our current DCM Suhel Ajaz Khan, who spoke to me about Haj operation. I got interested in this operation and within six months our CG called me and asked me to join this Jeddah consulate," he added. "I felt this was a challenging assignment and a bit different line of work, and this is something I need to do for diplomacy will be core effort throughout my career. With this in mind I accepted this post. "The first target after I took over as consul Haj, I decided that I'd work toward a accident-free Haj. And by Allah's grace in my three years, the Haj went off smoothly. The main challenge during this period was social media. With its advent, functionality changed and challenges grew. But we faced this challenge, like all challenges, with aplomb," he said. Shahid, who wore three hats as consul Haj, India Forum director and the school observer, was happy that he could complete his roles successfully. "As a school observer, at the end of the day, I can say that I managed to resolve many issues, with the prime focus being that all the schools under me should run under the rules and regulations of the Kingdom. My aim and effort was to see that the schools give quality education at affordable fees for the community." Wishing Shahid every success in the future, three community members spoke of their interaction with him in his three different roles. IPWF President Mohammed Abdulaziz Kidwai began his speech with an Urdu couplet stating that he would always be close to everyone's hearts and assured him of continuing the good work in Haj. "Ankoun se door sahi, dil se kahan jaohe, jane wale tum hamhe bahut he yaad aaughe. (You may go afar, but you'll always be in our hearts, though you are leaving us, you'll always be in out hearts), " he said. "Our CG gave me the responsibility of guiding IPWF and serve the Haj pilgrims and by the grace of Almighty Allah, under his guidance, we have fulfilled this responsibility. "IPWF had 450 wheelchairs in 2015. And in the next two years with the help of Sheikh saab and Shahid saab, IPWF now has 2,300 wheelchairs. You would also be glad to know, that the 2019 Haj will see an additional 20,000 increase in the numbers of pilgrims, so our CG has set us a target of 5,000 wheelchairs for this Haj. InshaAllah, this target would be achieve with the support of the community," he added. India Forum President Mir Ferozuddin too said that it was indeed a nostalgic moment while bidding farewell to the director of India Forum. "It's been a privilege to work with one of the finest diplomat, whose friendly and smiling disposition, cordial and gentle approach and compassionate temperament has won the hearts of many in the community... "He's young, dynamic and full of zeal emanating positive energy. The dynamism of India Forum is evident, unlike any other organizations; it has two minds and leaders providing constant support and direction. As director of the forum, along with the vision of CG, they carried with determination and belief to lead India Forum to become one of the leading expatriates forum in Jeddah," Ferozuddin said. "This was a journey that began two years ago, when they motivated the young team that was elected in the past two terms to work differently and bring in more depth in the conduct and the direction to be achieved for the forum. "He gave his support for each of the events wholeheartedly, and that was evident with his attendance, interaction with the members, and participation — whether it was coming on the stage and lending his voice or in his departure we'll miss his sporting nature. "Leadership is making others better just by your presence, communications is not just about using the right words, it is about skillfully modifying the way you speak to different people to help engineers a desired result, this is exactly what Shahid saab has been good at. He knows how to communicate and deliver his message to all levels of people," he added. Higher Board member Abdul Ghafoor Danish took the stage and stated tongue in cheek that the speakers before him had lavished fulsome praise and left him with little to nothing to add. "But as others have spoken about your good side, I'll talk a little about the other side that many of us have noticed," he said. "The main thing is that you always keep smiling. And this leaves many in a quandary. This problem is also evident in Sheikh saab too, for he too is always smiling. And both of you are always accessible, and this has in turn, made our expectations grow. This has made us expect the same kind of dedication and involvement from other officers. Being a little reserved would temper our expectations too," he added. "As a higher board member, a new role for me, I had the opportunity to work closely with Shahid saab — school observer. I learned a lot in the short span of association I had in this regard with you. The key thing I learned was not the react immediately to any issue. You taught me patience and allow for the full picture to emerge before acting," he said.
