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It was easy to spot Vikas Swarup at the Oscars in 2009.
As the cast and crew of Slumdog Millionaire swarmed the stage to accept the award for best picture, Mr. Swarup, the author of the book on which the movie was based, stood among the crowd of stars and gazed out at the Hollywood theatre, soaking up every second under the bright lights. The audience cheered, his colleagues addressed the camera with thanks, but Mr. Swarup just looked up.
"If you look at my pictures at the Academy Awards … I am like this," Mr. Swarup said in a recent interview, head tilted upward with a look of awe on his face.
The path to the Oscars stage is unlikely for any writer, but Mr. Swarup says his journey was more unusual than most. He was a writer by passion – but an ambassador by training. "What is a professional diplomat doing in the Kodak Theatre?"
And now, he has landed in Ottawa.
Mr. Swarup, whose passion for writing and distinguished diplomatic career have taken him around the globe and into the senior ranks of the Indian government, is embarking on a new adventure as India's high commissioner to Canada.
He arrives at a significant time for Canada-India relations, as the two countries attempt to finalize two major trade deals. The former right-hand man to Prime Minister Narendra Modi will communicate India's interests to a federal government that already understands the importance of its relationship with the emerging superpower and identifies India as a priority for Canada's trade agenda.
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