India and Pakistan will play a series of cricket matches later this year, marking the resumption of bilateral sporting ties after five years. Cricket matches between the South Asian rivals are not only one of the world’s most intense sporting rivalries - they are often intertwined with politics.

The cricket diplomacy that the BCCI is now forcing upon the grieving souls of Mumbai’s dead, is schlemiel raised to the nth power. Like a bird depositing pebbles in the mating game, India has been depositing dossiers while Pakistan’s sceptics get to say their lines yet again: you are going to get punched in the face again, Mr Chidambaram.

India must remain the “land of the better story”. As a society with a free press and a thriving mass media, with a people whose creative energies are daily encouraged to express themselves in a variety of appealing ways, India has an extraordinary ability to tell stories that are more persuasive and attractive than those of its rivals.

"The Ambassadors' Club" is probably the first in a series of anthologies of reflections and reminiscences by Indian diplomats as they juggle diverse domains ranging from climate change negotiations to labyrinths of WTO talks and fills in on the drama and atmospherics that are missing from more scholarly tomes on international relations.

Literature, the soul of cultural exchange, is giving conventional diplomacy a run for its space in South Asia with the mushrooming literary festivals that are provoking, discussing and building new bridges across cultures.

Despite moving in the right direction, the entire ordeal demonstrates just how incompetent Pakistan's government is when dealing with international crises, such as the NATO strikes, and how an emotional response, coupled with a poor understanding of bargaining power, can cripple a nation's international soft power and reputation.