Winston Churchill once defined diplomacy as “the art of telling a man to go to hell in such a way that he asks for directions to it!”

Jawaharlal Nehru explained a diplomat’s job rather differently: “I want to assure you that India does not expect to lie on its behalf. Never tell a lie but always remember you have no obligation to reveal the truth. The less said the better; the best is to listen.”

Listening to—and absorbing—such nuggets as related to him by his peers is exactly what veteran diplomat Pascal Alan Nazareth did during his 35-year journey in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) as he trod many a difficult path during which he served in a dozen missions abroad—among them as Ambassador/High Commissioner in five African and four Latin American countries. He also held key positions at the South Block headquarters of the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi—and even redefined the concept of cultural diplomacy.