Navtej Sarna

Navtej Sarna grew up in a literary family: both parents, Mohinder Singh Sarna and Surjit Sarna, wrote in Punjabi. He studied commerce and law at Delhi University and entered the Indian Foreign Service in 1980. His early postings included Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Geneva, and Tehran. In Washington from 1998 to 2002 he served as counsellor and minister before returning to Delhi as the foreign ministry's spokesman. ^{1, 2}

Sarna subsequently became ambassador to Israel, secretary responsible for western relations, and high commissioner to Britain. He took up the Washington ambassadorship in November 2016 and retired from diplomatic service in 2018. ^{1, 2}

Writing ran alongside that career. His books include the novel The Exile, the short story collection Winter Evenings, the travel book Indians at Herod's Gate, and translations including Zafarnama and Savage Harvest. After retirement he turned to writing full time; his later historical fiction includes Crimson Spring. ^{1, 2}