Karan Singh, from Cannes

Last week, speaking in New Delhi at the close of Bonjour India, a festival celebrating cultural links between France and India, Dr Karan Singh called Cannes his janmabhoomi.

He wanted to be president of India, but Dr Karan Singh had to settle for being only President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Having said that, Dr Singh, it seems, was born to be a cultural ambassador. Last week, speaking in New Delhi at the close of Bonjour India, a festival celebrating cultural links between France and India, Dr Singh called Cannes his janmabhoomi. “I was born in suite 318-320 of Hotel Martinez… as my father (Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Kashmir) was representing the Indian princes at the Round Table Conference in London in 1930.” Dr Singh re-visited the hotel last month and was presented a certificate by the Cannes City Council to commemorate his umbilical connection to the French Riviera.

CannesKaran Singh