His table manners

It's blazing down outside, but in here the sun enters obliquely, almost apologetically, and just strongly enough to emphasise the shapes of K Shankar Bajpai's round head, from the bow-shaped thought-wrinkles on his forehead to the learned dent in his skull.

Bajpai, now 80, is one of India's most senior retired diplomats, having served as our ambassador in China, Pakistan and the United States. We are seated in his study, a quiet, book-lined and china-strewn room, talking about dinner diplomacy