My friend Muthusamy Varadarajan (widely known as Varad), who has died aged 81, was a respected Indian civil servant. He was a minister at the Indian High Commission in London (1979-83), and was instrumental in organising the 1982 Festival of India, under the patronage of Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher. The festival brought musicians, dancers, artists and artisans from India to various venues in the UK, developing a new mutual understanding between the two countries.
On returning to India in 1983 he became permanent secretary in the ministry of culture in Delhi, and promoted the careers of many deserving artists, including the musicians Ravi Shankar and Bismillah Khan. Varad had a passion for Indian culture and literature, and especially for Indian classical music and dance. Thanks to him, my book India’s Dances (2004) was launched in Delhi by India’s minister of culture.
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