A Musical Memoir: Nirupama Rao Brings The Hindu Huddle to a Poignant Close

The two-day intellectual gathering concluded with a soulful performance by the former Foreign Secretary, tracing a global journey through the medium of song.

The curtains fell on The Hindu Huddle, an expansive two-day event that traversed the complex landscapes of politics, technology, sports, and cinema, with a departure from the podiums of debate. In a session titled ‘Counterpoint: A Life in Diplomacy, Poetry and Music,’ former Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao offered the audience a deeply personal retrospective. Accompanied by the Sri Lankan pianist Soundarie David Rodrigo, Ms. Rao transformed the final hours of the huddle into a musical memoir, reflecting on a career that spanned continents and cultures.

A Diplomatic Life in Lyrics

For Ms. Rao, the choice of performance was less about selecting favorite compositions and more about curating the "soundtrack of a life." Reflecting on her upbringing as the daughter of an Indian Army officer, she noted that the constant relocations of her childhood taught her that "home" is a fluid concept. This transience only intensified during her tenure as a diplomat, which saw her stationed in global hubs including Beijing, Colombo, Lima, Moscow, and Washington.

"As a diplomat, I spent life dealing with stories of nations," Ms. Rao observed. "But when I look back today at my own journey, I remember songs." She explained that the performance was an attempt to map her life not through the milestones of her professional career, but through the melodies that became the constants of her existence.

Global Rhythms and Shared Memories

The setlist was an eclectic tapestry, bridging different genres and eras with ease. Soundarie David Rodrigo, a pianist and choir director known for her work with the ensemble Soul Sounds and as a judge on Sri Lanka’s Got Talent, provided the harmonic backbone for the performance. Together, they navigated through American jazz classics, Broadway showtunes, and folk traditions, starting with Stephen Foster’s 1864 ballad, Beautiful Dreamer.

Other highlights included Bob Dylan’s Farewell Angelina and the enduring standard Dream a Little Dream. The duo also performed Smile, the evocative track composed by Charlie Chaplin for the 1936 film Modern Times. Ms. Rao noted that the themes within the song—the resilience required to maintain optimism in a changing world—remain as relevant today as they were when the film was first released.

The Enduring Power of Connection

Beyond her diplomatic legacy, Ms. Rao is the founder of the South Asian Symphony Foundation, an organization that underscores her commitment to using music as a bridge between nations. By weaving these songs into a narrative, she invited the audience to consider their own journeys—both the internal experiences and the outward travels.

The performance served as a reminder that even in a forum defined by the rigorous analysis of current affairs, there remains space for the evocative power of art. It was a fitting end to the huddle, grounding the high-level discussions of the previous two days in the universal, shared language of music.