John D Negroponte, the US ambassador to the UN and his nation's ambassador-designate to Iraq, and his wife greet Nambiar.
Sir Emyr Jones Parry, the British ambassador the UN, and Lady Parry; the European Commission's Ambassador to the UN John B Richardson and his wife; Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Alexander V Konuzin; Austrian Ambassador to the United Nations Gerhard Pfanzelter and his wife were also present at the reception.
Nambiar told India Abroad, the newspaper owned by rediff.com, that he felt somewhat orphaned after retiring from service. "I have always viewed the Indian Foreign Service like a parent in the sense that the ministry (ministry of external affairs) always told me where I should go and what I should do and I have always done that."
Photograph: Shiv Chander