Diplomats & army officers have one thing in common; both
will have a treasure –chest containing anecdotes by the time they retire. One
of the many perks of the job of a diplomat is that they get a chance to
interact with who’s who of the world. While most of them regale their near
&dear with their anecdotes, Ambassador T.P.Sreenivasan went one step
further & recorded them in a popular column for rediff.com.The book under
review is a compilation essays the author wrote for rediff .From one of the
most charismatic & longest serving head of a communist state to a god woman
from his home state, the book profiles an impressive cast of characters. Many
of the anecdotes on the well know personalities are amusing. Once Leonid
Brezhnev addressed Indira Gandhi as Mrs. Thatcher on being told that it was
Mrs Gandhi he said “I know that, but my
script says it is Mrs Thatcher”.Khrushchev was struck by the violence depicted in a kathakali
performance of “dussasana vadham “,he turned to K.P.S.Menon in horror & said ‘Mr Ambassador ,you still
call yourself a non-violent nation”. Whether it is A.M. Nair renaming his
Japanese wife as Janaki Amma or his desperate attempts to find a malayalee
bride for his sons or author’s observation in an apparent reference to the king’s
weight that everything in Tonga except king is in miniature there are many
moments to laugh out aloud. The book also gives rare insights of the
personalities profiled whether it is the usually indecisive Narasimha Rao’s
firm stand on not allowing Burma’s return to NAM or virtually broken Mani Dixit’s
side comment on the atrocious Sanskrit pronunciation of the priest performing
his son’s last rites. But the best essays are on Ratu Mara & Sitiveni Rabuka whom the author had the privilege of working closely as India’s High
Commissioner to Fiji .In these two essays he gives a glimpse of Fiji’s descend
to chaos. Altogether it is a joy ride of anecdotes, insights & vignettes of
diplomatic life.
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