Forty years or more ago, Lawrence Durrell, who is not generally known for light-heartedness, wrote a trilogy on diplomatic life. It is called the Antrobus Trilogy, after the narrator.

K.V Rajan, being a diplomat, has taken the road more travelled by: instead of writing it all himself, rather like his colleague Kiran Doshi did in a novel, Rajan has invited some other colleagues to write about their experiences.

The result, after accounting for the normal pomposity of Indians and their inability to be self-deprecating, is every bit as good as the Durrell trilogy. The anecdotes are fun, if not funny; and the substance is solid, if not weighty. What more does one want from a bunch of guys who served their country fairly well in trying conditions?

Except for one of the contributors – Jagat Mehta – none of the other 16 became foreign secretary. That reflects poorly on the way foreign secretaries are selected – by seniority mostly, and whimsy occasionally.

But each of the 16 contributors to this volume played an important role at different points in our history. It is good that Rajan has recorded them.

The British foreign office, until recently, used to require its Ambassadors to write down their views before they retired. These used to be circulated.

The Ministry of External Affairs is altogether too hidebound to countenance any such idea but retired officers now have a way of making their views known: they can ask Rajan to put together another volume.

Indeed, this can become an annual series, not only because it will allow invisible achievements to become visible but because it will also serve as an important historical source.

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