Text Size:
A+
One of my core duties as Bowles’ personal assistant [in India] was to take charge of the schedule for visitors who were important to Steb like Duke Ellington, Pete Seeger, those sorts of people and use their presence to put on programs that would appeal to Indians. My routine in those days was to wake up early and skim the morning papers. I would go through the seven or eight English-language papers quickly, noting anything that should be called to the attention of the Ambassador.
I was up especially early on November 23rd it was Dagmar’s birthday and found the papers face down on our doorstep. After arranging birthday cards around Dagmar’s place at the breakfast table I turned over one of the papers and was stunned.
updated: Feb 28 2021, 14:40 ist
Former American ambassador to India Richard Celeste has come out with his memoir in which he shares many interesting facts including the sensational defection of Joseph Stalin s daughter Svetlana from India on a US visa.
Celeste, who served as ambassador from 1997 to 2001 when Bill Clinton was president, first came to India in the 1960s as an assistant to the then envoy here Chester Bowles.
In Life in American Politics & Diplomatic Years in India: An Unvarnished Account , Celeste shares as honestly as I can the influences that led me to devote my life to public service - both in and beyond the political arena .