Apprentice no longer: Vikas Swarup (right) makes a point to journalist Kailash Budhwar

Portrait of an accidental novelist

It was richly entertaining catching up last week with Vikas Swarup, who has been promoting his just published new novel, The Accidental Apprentice, firstly at the Hay literary festival, then giving interviews in Manchester and London and rounding off with a bravura performance at the Nehru Centre.

Vikas has come a long way since his posting at the Indian High Commission in London in 2003. I saw Vikas and his artist wife, Aparna, in Los Angeles in 2009 when Slumdog Millionaire, an adaptation of his first novel, Q&A, won eight Oscars.

Since his stint in London, Vikas has served as Indian deputy high commissioner in South Africa and is now returning to Delhi after nearly four years in Japan as India’s consul-general in Osaka. The next assignment for Vikas (born in 1963 in Allahabad) should be somewhere as head of mission.

His new novel is penned from the point of view of 23-year-old Sapna Sinha, a sales assistant in an electronics shop in Delhi, who is offered the chance to become the CEO of a $10 billion group by its owner, Vinay Mohan Acharya. But first, she has to pass “seven tests from the textbook of life”.

“Through the character of Sapna Sinha I have tried to portray the modern Indian woman... reading my novels will help you to know my country, India, better,” Vikas told his audience. “You will discover an India that is vibrant, dynamic, pulsating and confidently marching forward.”

Vikas joked he had answered more questions at the Nehru Centre than during his entire tenure in Japan, where it was considered “impolite” to quiz a speaker. He addressed queries on everything from the Indian economy, which he thinks will recover the year after next, to the Delhi rape — “India could now become a trailblazer for putting women’s rights centre stage”.

Over dinner afterwards at Gaylords, it became apparent that India is lucky to have a diplomat who is able to sell India with the same eloquence that he sells Brand Vikas Swarup.

He had enjoyed being involved with Manmohan Singh’s recent crucial visit to Japan — “I was with the Prime Minister just three days ago in Tokyo”.

At the Nehru Centre, Vikas had meant it when he assured everyone he would remain a diplomat: “As of now I am very much keeping my day job.”

Running diplomat: Prashant Pise

Marathon man

Prashant Pise, formerly Indian deputy high commissioner in Mauritius, recently arrived in London to take up his post as counsellor (press & information) and head of chancery.

I was slightly concerned when he indicated that he wanted to “share my adventure” at the weekend.

I was taken aback when he said he had run the 100km “ultramarathon” from London to Brighton and back, completing the round trip in 15 hours.

He was among 2,000 runners who had avoided the motorways and taken a route through pretty English farms in the Sussex countryside.

“I could see no other Indian,” lamented Prashant.

Prashant, who has also served in Egypt, Libya and Japan and is fluent in French and Arabic, revealed: “I started long distance running while I was on my diplomatic assignment in Tokyo. Since then, I participated in more than a dozen marathons. Since 2008, I have finished more than 10 ultra distance races. This includes the famous 89km Comrades run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban in South Africa last year. Someone stuck an Indian flag into my hand for the last 30km.”

Prashant (born in 1970 at Wardha in Maharashtra), who is married with two children, said Indians think he is too thin but he has the wiry build of Ethiopian or Kenyan long-distance athletes. He is a non-veg, eats sensibly but follows no strict food regime.

The London Marathon is oversubscribed but Prashant has set his heart on getting into it.

Prashant, whose hobbies include “trekking, mountaineering, running, cycling, swimming and several outdoor and indoor sports”, declared: “I wish to run many more marathons and ultramarathons in the UK.”

Berne’s loss: Rajesh Prasad

Moving story

Rajesh Prasad, who was Indian deputy high commissioner in London until late last year, is going to the Netherlands as ambassador, the external affairs ministry in Delhi has announced.

And not a moment too soon, say Rajesh’s many friends in London, who thought it unfair that he was forced to cool his heels in Delhi.

Poor Rajesh should have gone to Berne last summer but the Indian ambassador in Switzerland, Chitra Narayanan, secured extensions to remain in the post despite having retired from the diplomatic service.

Narayanan is not without highly placed political friends in Delhi, one of whom said: “As she is the daughter of the late President K.R. Narayanan, she merits a little leniency. Sure, she’s retired but let’s not get too legalistic about these things. Chitra has not been in the best of health but often drops into the embassy.”

Dream debut

Someone at Air India should have remembered to invite its former regional director-general in the UK, Maneck Dalal, since the airline is holding a function today to mark the arrival of its inaugural Boeing 787 Dreamliner service from India to Heathrow.

Heathrow awaits: Air India’s Dreamliner

Passengers on board the flight, which also celebrates 65 years of Air India operations in London, are expected to include Rohit Nandan, chairman and managing director of India’s national carrier, Ajit Singh, civil aviation minister, and a host of journalists.

I telephoned Maneck, who left Air India in 1977, after nearly 30 years with the airline.

He recalled that after Cambridge, he joined (51 per cent Tata owned) Air India in Delhi. He was almost immediately sent to London in early 1948 to start its operations with twice weekly 749-Constellation aircraft. Only eight airlines, including BOAC, Pan Am, TWA, KLM and Air France, then operated from London Airport, when Heathrow was a just collection of bleak huts (one was Maneck’s office).

“I have always been proud of Air India,” said Maneck, who is now 94 and waiting for an imminent heart operation.

China talks

Lord Swraj Paul should get together with Amartya Sen to discuss China. This is because Swraj has returned deeply impressed from a recent trip to Shanghai and the nearby city of Suzhou — “China is marching ahead and it has changed tremendously”.

Meanwhile, Sen will be in London to promote his new book, An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions (Penguin; £20), written with fellow economist Jean Drèze.

They argue that “one of the biggest failures has been the very inadequate use of the public resources generated by economic growth to expand India’s lagging physical and social infrastructure — in sharp contrast, for example, to what China has done.”

Tittle tattle

Shahnaz Husain’s relentless PR machine has swung into action to inform gullible journalists that she “recently walked the Red Carpet at the Cannes Film Festival 2013”.

Perhaps it should have added: “Anyone with a ticket can walk on the red carpet. Only those who have a film at Cannes can be said to walk the red carpet.”

Shahnaz wins the Mallika Sherawat award for self-promotion. There is no chance of the L’Oreal girls being allowed within a mile of Shahnaz’s “beauty potions”.