In Conversation - Episode 5: Ambassador Nirupama Rao & Mr. Sudhakar Rao

Ambassador Nirupama Rao:
Nirupama Menon Rao is a retired Indian diplomat, Foreign Secretary and Ambassador. She joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1973. During her four-decade-long diplomatic career she held several important assignments. She was India’s first woman spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, the first woman high commissioner from her country to Sri Lanka, and the first Indian woman ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. She served as India’s Foreign Secretary from 2009-2011. At the end of that term, she was appointed India’s Ambassador to the United States where she served for a term of two years from 2011-2013.

On her retirement from active diplomatic service, Ambassador Rao entered the world of academics, having tought at institutions such as Columbia University and Brown University. Ambassador Rao has also pursued her passion for music. Her first commercial album, entitled "Peace is My Dream", produced by the Peninsula Studios in New Delhi,  was released in December 2017 by the Universal Music Group (India) label and can be digitally accessed on iTunes (India) , Saavn.com and Spotify.

Mr. Sudhakar Rao:
Sudhakar Rao is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer. He held various assignments including Chairman & Managing Director of the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), Principal Secretary - Finance, Principal Secretary - Home, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Development Commissioner, and Chief Secretary of Karnataka.

Both Ambassador Nirupama Rao and Mr. Sudhakar Rao have recently set up a Bangalore-based Trust called The South Asian Symphony Foundation to further the cause of peace and mutual understanding in South Asia through the medium of music.