T. P. Sreenivasan has many firsts to his credit in the Indian Foreign Service. He is the first to be posted to the United States thrice, the first to hold the two crucial positions of Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Deputy Chief of Mission in the embassy in Washington, the first to be posted to three of the UN capitals (New York, Nairobi and Vienna) at ambassadorial level, the first envoy to be expelled from a country (Fiji) for championing the cause of overseas Indians and the first, and hopefully the last, envoy to be injured grievously in a politically motivated armed attack (Nairobi). He has also served in different capacities in Japan; in Bhutan; in Moscow, where he saw India–USSR relations at its peak; and in Myanmar, where he saw the last days of Ne Win in power. He lives in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala with his wife, a dancer and painter. He is presently a freelance writer and broadcaster.