India, May 5 -- I think most people will agree that Karan Singh - philosopher, statesman, writer and orator - was the best President our Republic never got. The sad part is that Rashtrapati Bhavan was within his reach. When the opportunity came in 2007, he was a fit 75 years old, and his party, the Congress, was in power, as part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

At that time, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha, and the president of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), of which I was the director-general. He was, therefore, my direct boss. But "boss", I think, is an inappropriate word. We were also friends and intellectual companions, and the relationship was one of great warmth and trust.

Our ties extended to our fa...