When India backed Shashi Tharoor’s candidature for the UN top job, not too many people were surprised. Tharoor’s credentials were impeccable. A 29 year stint at the UN, coupled with his erudition and a keen understanding of world affairs made him the perfect candidate to take over from Kofi Annan.

Tharoor narrowly missed out on the coveted post to present incumbent Ban Ki-moon but got twice as many votes as the third placed Latvian president. An opportunity to get up close and personal with the man himself makes one realise what made him such a strong contender for the secretary-generalship. Tharoor  exudes class and has the aura of man who would have made a great UN secretary-general.

Post-UN, he has taken on a business  incarnation in partnership with the Dubai-based Afras Limited, which has considerable interests in the O&G sector. Afras, Tharoor pointed out, traces its origins to Oman. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Khalili was its founder. “Coming to Oman was about getting to know a country that has loomed large in my company’s origins and is fascinating and beautiful at the same time.”

So what’s his involvement with Afras? “I have come in at a time when the company is looking at diversifying and moving out geographically. The first project in India will be the setting up of a training facility in business communications at the IT park in Trivandrum.”

On a more personal note, it was an opportunity for him to catch up with the Indian Ambassador H E Anil Wadhwa, whom he describes as a close friend from his teenage years. “The Indian Ambassador has been trying to convince me to come to Oman and interact with the Indian community here,” he informed.

When asked about the recent flare up in Gaza, threatening to derail the US-brokered peace efforts, he said, “One cannot afford to give up hope. Yesterday’s problems are not today’s problems and today’s won’t be tomorrow’s. If you look at the contours of the problem, there have been important changes, important landmarks and important elements of progress. The attempt is worth making, but it may have been made  too late in the Bush administration’s term. Eight years ago, the Clinton administration had made a last ditch effort to broker peace in the last year of his term, but it was a little too late. A serious peace making effort needs to be made by seriously sustained engagement by the US administration. Coming so late in the term, I am afraid it is not likely to produce results.”

He has his own take on the Obama-Clinton face-off for the democratic presidential nomination. "I have known Hillary Clinton for some years now and she is an extremely capable leader, with a razor sharp intellect and keen political instincts. I'd be happy to see her as president. But it is difficult to escape the overwhelming phenomenon that Obama has become. He is someone who inspires because of the quality of his mind and the incredible story of his life. For people like us to imagine a person of colour, the son of an immigrant, someone who has lived in Asia and Indonesia, potentially leading the US is exhilarating. It would transform what America means to the world. Obama is someone who transcends geographical, religious, cultural and racial barriers and captures in essence the shifting globalised interconnectedness that all of us have."

Tharoor rues the fact that his hectic engagements leave him very little time to pursue his writing pursuits. He appears upbeat about how warmly his latest book, titled The Elephant, Tiger, and The Cell Phone, has been received in India.

An avowed cricket fan, Tharoor is working on a book on Indo-Pak cricket in a collaborative effort with former Pakistan cricket board chief Sharyar Khan. He is quite taken in by the hype surrounding the IPL cricket launch, but wonders whether the IPL model, which is based on the assumption that the game will be so popular that advertisers will be ready to pump in big bucks, will live up to its promise.

Tharoor will co-chair a global seminar of young leaders around the world in India later this year. “I am in favour of young people from across borders meeting and having a cross-fertilisation of ideas, to internationalise their ideas, since we are living in a globalised world that is interconnected.”

He seemed fascinated by Oman’s beauty. “It is a very beautifully planned country and appears to be a very agreeable place to live in. I hope to soak in the sights and sounds, the forts and palaces, the beaches, even the souqs,” he said before dashing off for an interactive session with young CEOs of Omani companies.

Tharoor dismissed any talk of running again for the UN top job. "This was Asia's turn. The next secretary-general will almost certainly come from Europe and it is only fair that the post be rotated among the continents."

Most people find it difficult to handle the pressures of a single job, but for him, handling the multiple roles of celebrity speaker, leading columnist, novelist, adviser to multiple international agencies and now in a business avatar as chairman of Afras Limited, comes effortlessly.

Interviewing Tharoor was a sheer joy. At times, one felt that the interview was with ‘Secretary-General’ Tharoor. Who could blame me? Such is the man’s persona.