Tokyo’s power couple, HK Singh and Mrinalini Singh, playing good hosts to visiting Indian brass

Hemant Krishna Singh, a 1974 batch IFS and his painter wife Mrinalini Singh are now playing hosts to political and diplomatic brass from India. They are avid golfers, but these days, they have more work outside the course.

As India’s Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, his wife Gursharan Kaur, Union minister for external affairs SM Krishna, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, national security advisor Shivshankar Menon are busy meeting Japanese political and business leaders and attending power lunches and dinner diplomacy, it’s the Singh couple who are playing perfect hosts.

India's Ambassador to Japan, Singh has held assignments ranging from being country officer for the US (1980-1981), director for Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan (1991-1992) to joint secretary for Western Europe (1992-1995) in the ministry of external affairs. Later, he was first secretary in Washington DC (1981-1985), and Counsellor in Kathmandu (1985-1988) and Belgrade (1988-1991). Ambassador Singh was also the Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the UN Offices in Geneva (1995-1999) and Ambassador of India to Colombia. He also served as Ambassador of India to Indonesia with concurrent accreditation to East Timor.

And what’s about his better half? Mrinalini Singh is a keen golfer, but no one can ignore that she is an accomplished painter and sculptor. No wonder, she has held several exhibitions of her art in Geneva, Bogota, Jakarta and Tokyo!

It’s life beyond mere art of diplomacy!

Kalmadi not invited for Cabinet secretary’s Commonwealth dinner

Finally, cabinet secretary who organized a thanksgiving dinner after the successful staging of the Commonwealth Games virtually snubbed Organizing Committee head Suresh Kalmadi as the latter was not invited for the party. In addition to bureaucrats who played a key role in the last-minute arrangement of the Games, politicians connected to the Games including Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Lt Governor Tejender Khanna, and Union sports minister MS Gill attended the cabinet secretary’s party.