Farewell to a diplomat

OP Vaish and his counselor wife hosted a dinner in honour of ?good friend? Shashank, who recently retired as Foreign Secretary.

Diwanshree Apartments at Feroz Shah Road, home of OP Vaish, was unusually noisy on Friday evening. Polite banter over homecooked vegetarian food was in full swing. The senior advocate and his counselor wife (who took many sessions on meditation with Tihar inmates) hosted a dinner in honour of ‘good friend’ Shashank, who recently retired as Foreign Secretary.

HT Image

Vaish’s family and Shashank have been good friends for decades. “My wife’s family has known him much longer than I do,” said Vaish. The dinner was to show his love and respect. “Over the years I have seen how Shashank has devoted himself to his profession. Despite the flamboyant service he’s been in, they have always been simple and down-to-earth,” says Vaish. So, a sprinkling of diplomats, bureaucrats and industry leaders filled up their neatly done-up home.

After 38 years of being in the service, Shashank looked relaxed. What will he do now? “I’ve been with the government for 38 years. At 65, I hope I can take a decision that will keep me going,” he said.

Recalling his posting in Brussels, Kalpana, Shashank’s better half, said it was like a honeymoon: “I was 18 and he was 24. Those were great times.” Their next posting was in Vietnam during the Christmas bombing. “It was an interesting country,” she added. At their stint in New York, they did extensive travelling. “I did a course in mass media from Hunter College. Then we went to Egypt,” said Kalpana.

“Now, we want to take it easy in life,” added Kalpana, who plans to do some social work. Of course, they will also have more time for their son, who works in New York, and their daughter, who has now settled down in Singapore.
Photos: Manoj Verma