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The Perfect Diplomat

Located some thirty kilometres from Rajgarh was the small village of Habban. The approach was lined with apple orchards, some of which were owned by well-known personalities. There was the “Friends Orchard”, owned by a couple of Judges, “The Hermitage”, owned by the renowned diplomat, T N Kaul, one owned by a senior UN official and a couple of others owned by senior bureaucrats . I forget the name of the orchard, but there was one owned by Mr. P N Haksar, the ex- Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, too! Needless to say, the VIPs visited their orchards a couple of times every year, and Rajgarh was a lively place during July – August, when the apples were being harvested.
It was during August 1974 that I had the honour of meeting Mr. T N Kaul, who was then posted as India’s ambassador to the United States. Initially appointed to the Indian Civil Service in 1939, Mr. Kaul was inducted into the Indian Foreign Service in 1949. He served with distinction as Ambassador to Russia and later as Ambassador to the US from 1973 to 1976. A fair, handsome, curly haired gentleman of medium height, he was extremely gentle and soft spoken. He was loved and respected by all the officers posted in Rajgarh – and there were quite a few – and all of them used to look forward to his visits.
Whenever Mr. Kaul came to his orchard, he would invite a few officers every evening to his cottage, The Hermitage. It was considered an honour to be among the invitees, and I felt flattered when one day I received a printed invitation, signed by the great man himself. On the appointed day, I took care to dress properly, discarding my usual jeans in favour of the only pair of formal trousers I owned. As I stood on the roadside, waiting for the bus to arrive, I spotted the Regional Soil Conservation Officer, one Mr. Rao (from Andhra Pradesh) driving towards me. I thumbed a lift with him to Mr. Kaul’s cottage, which was some ten kilometres down the road. The door was opened by Mr. Kaul himself, and we were ushered into a room resplendant with sparkling crystal showpieces in every corner and photos of Mr. Kaul with an assortment of dignitaries adorning the walls. Thoroughly overawed, I took a seat in one corner of the room, content to just watch the other five officers chat with the host.
Soon, the Scotch Whiskey, that Mr. Kaul always brought, was broken out and measures poured into every glass but his. He motioned to his servant, and a bottle of ‘Chhang’, the local brew, was placed before him. As he poured the potent beverage into his glass, he remarked, “I really envy you gentlemen living here in such calm, serene, beautiful surroundings. I would gladly exchange my life for yours. Washington is such a hassle!” Mr. Rao, in his inimitable south Indian accent, asked for a piece of paper, and placed it before the diplomat. “Saar,” he said, “would you please write down what you just said. You might forget it in the morning! I will gladly exchange my life here for yours in Washington, even if it is for a day.” Everybody had a hearty laugh, Mr. Kaul laughing the loudest of us all! Such was the simplicity of the man, he never let us feel how senior and highly placed he was than all of us, He brought himself down to our level and made us feel special by treating us as his equals …. even me, the junior-most officer present. My respect for Mr. Kaul grew over the course of further interactions with him over the years. God bless his soul!

Comments

  1. Unknown15 March 2019 at 18:34

    😀 In the present charged atmosphere, such interactions needs highlighting. Life is simple and such incidents are reassuring.

    ReplyDelete

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