Navigating the geopolitical landscape of over 125 embassies, engaging in global diplomacy, and still managing a morning walk with his wife, Dr S Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister, leads a life that is anything but typical.
In a candid interview, the intimate contours of his everyday routine, unveiling a life marked by international calls at 2 a.m., jet lag confusion, quick newspaper scans, and even backyard badminton games.
“My routine… I have a routine, but my routine keeps changing a bit because when you do foreign policy, one is that we travel a lot. So, sometimes you don’t know in jet lag where you are physically and mentally. So, this is a big problem,” he began.
He jokes that his day typically starts around 6 a.m.—not early by his family’s standards. Mornings are reserved for mental and physical alignment through yoga and physiotherapy-like stretching.
A long-standing ritual is his morning squash game: “And one habit which I’ve had now for many, many years, main game khelta hoon. Usually, I go to play squash.”
He often walks for about 30 minutes with his wife, carving out time for conversation amid a 24/7 work life. “And many days, I take a walk, even maybe about half an hour, that is one thing I usually do with my wife. Kam se kam hum baat toh karte hain us samay, so that is an additional value for that time as well,” he told YourStory.
From early morning briefings from Indian missions worldwide to scanning 10–12 newspapers and reviewing summarised global developments, Dr Jaishankar stays attuned to the pulse of the world.
“There is a certain manner you build your life around that disturbance, that also becomes a habit,” he explains, reflecting on his unpredictable schedule shaped by world events.
His workday begins around 9:30 a.m. and flows into high-level meetings, reviews, and critical geopolitical decisions. Evenings aren’t restful either—they’re spent attending political meetings, clearing ministry files, or holding diplomatic calls with officials in Western time zones.
“It’s a 24/7 life because somewhere, someone is awake, and something is happening.”
In between, he squeezes in the simple joys of life—watching a web series during a flight, listening to music, or flipping through books.
“Movies are a bit of a challenge because you don’t get two hours. I prefer serials—in 45 minutes you can see one episode, at least you can kind of move on.”
A career in foreign affairs has not stripped Jaishankar of domestic intimacy or personal discipline—it has only made him more adept at harmonising the two.
