Over 15 years, Mr. Tharoor has written elegant novels chronicling the fantasies and foibles of India, his spiritual home, including an unsparing contemporary satire on an epic Hindu poem. He also writes sharp-edged, often witty political commentary that appears in magazines and newspapers. But for the last six weeks, when the writing stops and the sun comes up, Mr. Tharoor has headed off to one of the more challenging temp jobs ever running, on an interim basis, the United Nations Department of Public Information. The United Nations has never had the greatest success putting the best public face on its work. And this specific office has been widely derided over the years.
Politicians think it is a wasteful propaganda office.
The former United States ambassador, Richard C. Holbrooke, for one, wasted no opportunity to attack it. Working reporters also see the department as largely useless and terribly slow. Mr. Tharoor didn't exactly seek out the job. He was appointed by Secretary General Kofi Annan in late January. He has 428 employees in New York City, and 307 more workers in offices around the world.