Sydney: While reports of Shashi Tharoor as one of the future successors to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan were appearing in the Asia-Pacific media, the author-diplomat, who drew large crowds in Australia, said he carries his "Indianness" with him wherever he goes.

Tharoor was in Sydney on a 10-day visit as part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (DFAT) special visitors programme for persons regarded by DFAT as likely to have long-term influence in international affairs.

Four years ago, the World Economic Forum in Davos had identified Tharoor, senior UN under secretary general, as "a global leader of tomorrow".

When Tharoor, who has been at the UN since 1978, was asked by a leading national daily if he was Americanised, he said, "No. I haven't made the leap of imagination that immigration entails. I am an outsider here to do a job and technically I'm a non-resident.

"I have lived in Switzerland without feeling Swiss, I have lived in Singapore without feeling Singaporean. I carry my Indian identity and my Indianness with me," he added.

Tharoor is still hopeful of a peaceful solution to Iraq and in an interview to another local daily, he said, "The Iraq crisis is not the only issue on the international agenda, there is poverty, human rights, under-development, AIDS, climate change, terrorism, drug abuse and refugee flows."

Speaking in the national capital Canberra, the prize-winning novelist said, "I beg you to bear in mind there is a whole world out there, which has other urgent priorities, which we at the United Nations believe require your attention."

An audience of 300, including Consul General M Ganapathi and Governor of New South Wales Marie Bashir, attended Tharoor's address on "Globalisation and the Human Imagination" held at the Arts Council of Australia, Sydney, in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art and DFAT.

In a stimulating talk, Tharoor drew on his experience to explore the issues that reconcile his two worlds – the UN and literature.

His address focused on globalisation of the mass media and the meaning and implications of the terrorist attacks of September 11, while seeking to answer the question if there was such a thing as global imagination in a world post-September 11.

"Is there an alternative to globalisation, which has brought McDonalds and Microsoft to every land, brought Mickey Mouse and Nintendo to every mind?" he asked.

Introduced to the audience by Australian novelist David Malouf, Tharoor's talk was so well received that it is scheduled for a nationwide broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio. He also spoke on terrorism at the Sydney University.

Tharoor paid homage at the Bradman Museum in Bowral and held talks with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer while watching cricket in Adelaide.

During the highly successful visit, he met and discussed issues with a cross-section of Australian groups from non-governmental organisations, business associations, the Committee for Melbourne, the United Nations Association, Asialink and the University of Melbourne.

PTI