At one state banquet in Shanghai the most memorable item on the menu was a whole cooked duck served with head, beak and claws intact. As Nehru watched in speechless horror, Chinese Prime Minister Zhou EnLai cracked open the duck’s head and offered its scooped out brains to his distinguished Indian visitor.
So Marina’s emotional and cultural ties to India are beyond question and they will be still more in evidence if, as expected, Boris takes over in Downing Street.
Malhotra was especially interested in the evolution of India’s nuclear policies and took credit for correctly anticipating a policy shift following China’s nuclear test in 1964.