India's diplomats belting out the books - Pratap Chakravarty

India's diplomats are adding to the reputation for culture earned by their poet-prime minister by churning out a succession of novels.

Foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna is releasing his second novel and is planning a third by October.

Sarna's We Weren't Lovers Like That follows blockbuster success in the mid-1990s by India's current ambassador to Cyprus and published Hindi poetry written by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, one time foreign minister.

Sarna's latest novel revolves around a middle-aged executive whose wife leaves with their only child.

It is a story of the "intricate, unpredictable nature of human relations, choices we make, regrets we have, how we deal with possible mistakes," Sarna says.

The diplomat wrote the paperback while working in the Indian embassy in Washington and since taking up his current, high-pressure post as foreign ministry spokesman.

"A lot of people who enter the profession are fond of writing, philosophy, painting and singing," Sarna said in an interview published here.

"And, the foreign service offers that kind of an exposure - a kaleidoscope of experiences which can jog creativity," said Sarna, currently accompanying Vajpayee on his landmark trip to China.

Sarna is hoping for literary success, but his predecessor has already received ovations for her artistic outlet - singing.

"Music just comes naturally to me and I find time away from work to take lessons in opera and now I am learning Western music... I have been singing all my life and of late I am upgrading the skills," said Nirupama Rao, who was spokeswoman when India and Pakistan veered close to war last year.

"You learn things about your voice that one does not as foreign ministry spokesperson," said Rao. "It is a wonderful stress-buster."

India's ambassador to Cyprus, Pavan Varma, another former spokesman, found huge success in the mid-1990s with his The Great Indian Middle Class .

He has also received qualified praise from leading Indian journalist Khushwant Singh for his translations of Vajpayee's poems.

"I was somewhat alarmed to hear that Pavan Varma translated a selection of Vajpayee's poems ... He wisely chose to exclude Vajpayee's politically-motivated compositions meant to be chanted loudly at mass meetings," Singh said in published comments.