Shashi Tharoor

Unplugged

What does this dashing, debonair man think about all the ladies swooning over him and every man hoping to be like him? He says, he tells himself he should enjoy it while it lasts, these phases after all are most transient. And then he offers us his famous sweet dimpled smile, throwing back his mop of hair! Shashi Tharoor for you; answering questions with his trademark candour and charm

Text & Photographs: Farzana Contractor

Now here is one person who has led a rich life, in every sense of the term. And he has led it according to his own terms. Never compromising, never apologetic, always believing in himself as also in the larger picture on his canvas. Persisting with things and yes, making an impact on the communities he has been a part of throughout his life, right from the age of 10 when he wrote his first book, or 22 when he earned a doctorate from Tufts University, USA, the first to do so, at that age, at The Fletcher School.…

The richest part of life, methinks is, when he was working at the United Nations, where he rose to the rank of Under-Secretary General. His career there which began in 1978 offered him opportunities for some wonderful and daring experiences. He has been a staff member of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) in Geneva going on to become the head of the division in Singapore during the boat people crisis, leading rescue efforts at sea, and succeeding in resettling a backlog of Vietnamese refugees. As part of the Peacekeeping Operations Department, he was right there in Yugoslavia, spending time on ground during the civil war.

I do wonder what the outcome would have been had Shashi Tharoor, India’s blue-eyed boy (even though his eyes may be some indescribable colour), then just 50 years old, won the elections for the post of UN Secretary General… Well, he finished second (because US vetoed him, Condoleezza Rice was not in the mood for a person as strong and popular as him, in that post), resigned soon after and left the UN on April 1, 2007. It was no April Fool’s joke. He did amputate an important part of his life.

Regarding the UN, was my first question to Shashi. “It was a shame you lost to Korea’s Ban Ki-moon. Had you not, how would you conjure your life today?”  “Awww...,” he goes, “Let me not venture there! One of the things Kofi Annan, my boss, mentor and friend, taught me was never to look back at the doors you have passed through but to close them firmly behind you and look ahead.” His dimpled smile stops me right there on that track.

Okay then, let’s check, was politics always his destiny? Why did he return to India? “Not at all – I don’t hail from a political family and I always regarded politics as a closed world to which an educated professional like me was unlikely to receive access. But when, in the aftermath of my unsuccessful run for the post of UN Secretary-General, I was asked by the Congress Party whether I would be willing to contest the 2009 elections,

I did not hesitate for a second to say yes, even though it meant uprooting myself from more than four decades of life abroad. After decades of serving internationally, I rather relished the idea of trying to make a difference in my home country.” Well, Mr Tharoor, we are certainly happy to have you back home.

Shashi chose to join the Congress because he felt ideologically comfortable with it. In 2009 he contested the general elections from Thiruvananthapuram and won handsomely, pun unintended. Subsequently he has held on to that seat over three elections. Shashi, as is his nature, gives of himself fully to politics. I asked him how he felt about the Congress victory in Karnataka, which was a turning point for the party. “Yes, I agree it was a turning point. It lifted the morale of party workers, changed the climate of opinion in the country, facilitated the Opposition unity talks in Patna and Bangalore and set us on a firm course to consolidate those gains and bring about a decisive change in 2024,” he answers with great clarity. But does he sometimes feel disillusioned by all the goings-on. Does he sometimes feel enough is enough, that he wants to be done with political life, or does he have the will to carry on? His honest answer, “Yes, there are moments of frustration and disillusionment, but they always fade when confronted with the larger picture of the struggle for India’s soul and one’s responsibility to play whatever part one can to save the idea of India − an inclusive India that belongs to everyone.” Truer words were never spoken. I do yearn for my beloved, ‘old’ India that seems to have disappeared amidst a lot of false promises.

Talking of which, I have to have Shashi elaborate on the charming way he conjures India. If America is a melting pot, to him India is a thali. “The melting pot idea is of various different kinds of people dissolving together into one homogenous identity. That’s the American ideal, but it’s not India − we are a land of multiple distinct identities, and yet those different identities are all safe because they shelter under the broad carapace of an Indian identity. I express that most simply by comparing our country not to a melting pot but to a thali− a big stainless steel plate with lots of different bowls on it. Each bowl contains a different dish, each dish tastes different so it doesn’t flow into the next, but they all belong together on the same platter and combine on your palate to give you a satisfying repast.”

That’s a beautiful description, but sorry I got distracted… “the broad carapace of Indian identity?” Ah I see what you mean, a protective shell… (I had to look it up, I confess). But which does get me to the next bit in Shashi’s life. Gosh, how is he so articulate, how does he know all those difficult words, how can he store all those wonderful expressions in his mind, does he have a chip installed in his head or what?

Ha, ha, ha, the man laughs, when he is reminded that he obviously is privy to the memes that surround his inimitable and oftentimes esoteric speeches and high vocabulary. What does he have to say? “I honestly think it’s a bit exaggerated but I try to take it in good spirit. Some of them are quite amusing and I enjoy the humour, like the meme that says ‘I thought I was poor. But then I met Shashi Tharoor and I realised I’m impecunious!’. Others are a bit fatuous, such as when people string meaningless sesquipedalian words together and claim, ‘This is Shashi Tharoor wishing me  for Diwali’. Not funny!” says Shashi in mock anger!

Far from funny and what’s really true is the fact that when Shashi speaks, everyone around hangs on to his every word. And speeches, the stuff that people make which are usually so boring, are Shashi’s forte. If proof of appreciation of his eloquence is needed, all you have to do is check the popularity of his speeches on YouTube you will see that they garner millions of views. Apart from how well he speaks he also picks his subjects with care.

He was the most followed Indian on Twitter, until the X factor went in favour of our PM who now holds that honour. But how does Shashi manage to be so active, not just tweeting or X-ing, but also writing books, speaking at various platforms, going for lit fests, joining debates, giving interviews, travelling and of course attending parliament. “I honestly don’t think I have a choice. Talking about being active on social media, if my tweets are to represent my thoughts and concerns about the major issues and events of my life, then they must be in my own voice and not crafted by some staff member or PR agency, so I have to do it.”

Like everyone, I am aware writing is an integral part of this highly successful author. But I do wonder what the process is like, for me it would seem that he could even write in his sleep! Does he even have a count of the number of books he has written? “Sure, no parent loses count of the number of kids they’ve produced – why should a writer be any different? The answer is 25. I write whenever and wherever I can, including on work trips or constituency visits. Unfortunately, that means I don’t sleep enough. But I like to quote the great lines of the American humourist AJ Liebling: “I write faster than anyone who writes better, and better than anyone who writes faster!” That’s probably true of me too.”

The famous Shashi Tharoor book titles are Notes from the Hinterland, India: The Future is Now, Nehru: A Biography, Why I  am a Hindu, The Paradoxical Prime Minister, Inglorious Empire... But there is one I have heard of and not seen, and asked him about it, it was a book illustrated by MF Husain (Kerala: God’s Own Country), what was that experience like? “Oh that was amazing, especially since I had not met Husain Saab at that point and the two of us worked completely independently, with him painting away in Kerala and me sitting in New York writing about my memories of the state in response to images of his paintings sent to me by the then Kerala Tourism Chief, Amitabh Kant. The book was stunning but very poorly promoted and marketed, and is today sadly out of print.”

My next question stumps him! Who or what would you attribute your level of intelligence most to? Mum, dad, education, books, global experience… what? And he asks me a question in answer, “Would it not be too presumptuous to answer that?” And then adding, “One is of course grateful for one’s genes, but of the options you give, books had a lot to do with my intellectual development. I was an asthmatic child, and staying awake struggling to breathe, in those pre-inhaler, pre-nebuliser days, in an era when there was no TV, no Nintendo or PlayStation and mobile phones weren’t even a gleam in an inventor’s eye, meant that I only had books. Books served as my escape, my entertainment and my education. I read extensively and indiscriminately and in the process picked up an extensive vocabulary and wide mental horizons that I believe have served me well.” He concludes, with a smile.

Which leads me to ask about his mother whose milestone birthdays he and his two sisters, Shobha and Smita celebrate with great enthusiasm. “Your ma must be most proud of you. Did she have a big influence on you? Do you have nostalgic childhood memories of her cooking for you? Did she teach you cooking?”

Rather candidly, Shashi replies, “I have to admit that it’s only late in life that my mother and I have established a lovely, intimate and mutually loving relationship. Growing up was much more challenging because nothing I ever did was good enough for her – she was constantly driving me to do more and better, and I never heard a kind word from her,
only demands and criticisms, till late in life. So if she was proud of me she would never let me know!”

“But yes, she did cook for us and we enjoyed her cooking, and no, I have to confess I was never taught how to cook. The milestone birthdays were important for us to celebrate together because we lost our father when she was only 57, and so we were the only ones left to mark the special occasions with her. We have tried to be together most years on her birthday which falls on December 2, and had rather grander celebrations for her 60th, 70th and 80th birthdays. I am hoping God is kind and allows us all to have a really major celebration when she turns 90.”

Shashi was born in London but raised in India since he was two. He went to school at Campion in Bombay. Did he ever visit his hometown in Kerala when he was growing up? What about holidays there, food, friends? What kind of memories do these questions rake up for him?

“Oh yes, my parents took us to their home villages in Kerala every year and so we have deep and abiding memories of summers and occasionally other holiday times that we spent in the sprawling 200-year-old ancestral home set amid the paddy fields. The presence of many relatives meant we didn’t miss our friends; and we all became very fond of the Kerala dishes cooked there. We’ve maintained the connection, visit whenever we can and contribute to the maintenance of the house even today, even from afar. My sisters and I all feel a deep sentimental attachment for the place, our roots are there.”

The cuisine of Kerala is among the best in our country and a lot of it includes meat and seafood. But Shashi is a vegetarian, has he always been so? “Yes! Ever since I was old enough to know what I was eating. I was not initially brought up as one, but I must have been just five or six years old when I was revolted by accompanying my mother to a butcher’s shop in Crawford Market and refused to eat the bleeding carcasses I saw there. My nonplussed parents first humoured me thinking I’d grow out of it; when I didn’t, they tried to trick me, giving me ham sandwiches and claiming they were tomato, or passing off fish tikkis as aloo, just in the hope that I would enjoy them and they could then say ‘see, you’re not really a vegetarian, quit this nonsense’! But when I threw up on discovering each deception, they abandoned that tactic too and just learned to live with my vegetarianism. My sisters were raised to eat everything. And I usually don’t give everyone this long explanation: I tend simply to say that I don’t like biting into anything which in its living state would have bitten me back. Sometimes I’m less kind and I just say, ‘I don’t like biting into a corpse’. That usually ends that line of conversation!” In which case we will do likewise, right here, right now. But our readers would like to know about your likes, dislikes, fave food, fave cuisine, your relationship with food… So he goes, “As a vegetarian, I am addicted to three things: idlis for breakfast, pizzas when available and chocolate any time.” And pointing to his tummy he continues, “Now you understand where that waistline came from! South Indian cuisines, Mughlai veg food, Italian, Thai and Mexican, are my favourites. But at base, I’m a man of simple dehati tastes: rice, dal, aloos abzi, achar and dahi will satisfy me on most occasions. But having so visibly lost the battle of the bulge, I am trying to practise more self-restraint now.”

Does he drink alcohol, wine? “I went through a semi-serious wine phase when I lived in Geneva with the UN and can still enjoy the occasional glass, but have for long been a reasonably discerning single malt Scotch sipper. Late evenings, especially in cold weather, would be the best time to enjoy that. I’ve also discovered an unusual cinnamon feni which truly warms your cockles on Delhi winter nights.”

If we keep politics and writing aside, what else would Shashi have time for? Does he travel, does he like to? When did he last take a serious holiday?

“In 1997! I’m happy anywhere and I’m lucky my work at the UN and also as a writer have taken me to most of the beautiful places around the world, even if not on holiday. I think integrating the pleasure of being in different environments along with a purposive work ethic is the best way to merge both curiosity and sightseeing into your regular life.”

“I do I travel a lot on the job, so I rarely do it just for pleasure. If I am ever able to spare the time, I love to watch cricket, ideally live but, since that’s rarely possible, recorded on TV, too. Films and theatre, earlier passions, have now become a very rare indulgence.”

Does he relax, able to? Here in The Maldives where he is attending the Jaipur Lit Fest and where we sit chatting, what does this haven do to him? Prompt comes the answer! “I’ve definitely lost the art of relaxing! Even in The Maldives. But I love being near the sea, even though I can’t swim, and have always preferred blue skies and warm ocean breezes to snowy peaks and mountains. Of course, wherever I am, I’m always conscious of that vast pending list of things to catch up on…”

So, finally I ask him the question I was going to first ask when I started the interview, “Tall, stately and highly well-read, what are the other adjectives you would use to describe Shashi Tharoor?” Prompt comes the answer, “Hard-working, idealist, over-stretched!” Oh really, why? “Hard-working: I take on a lot, try to keep my word to everyone, do my homework, prepare conscientiously and don’t let up easily. Idealist: because I still cling on to the hope that having given up a great deal of material comforts to come back to India and enter public life, that I can still make a difference. Over-stretched: because I don’t know how to say “no” and I say “yes” to too many things – including this interview!”

Famous last words. We are sure you are going to love seeing yourself on our cover and will make time to read every word of this in-depth interview.

But Shashi Tharoor, thank you for your time. And we know you will make a difference in the crucial, coming new year.