Sergio Gor is not your everyday diplomat.
In fact, he shouldn't be considered a diplomat at all, despite being designated the US Ambassador to New Delhi. His style of functioning is entirely his own. He drives the relationship with India, maintains a direct link to the Prime Minister's office, and yes, he is regularly on the phone with his President, Donald Trump.
This access and the vigour he brings to the Indo-US equation were on full display last night as the United States began celebrations marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence - festivities that will peak on July 4, 2026.
On Sunday evening in New Delhi, Gor and his team staged a massive show at Bharat Mandapam, India's premier international convention centre. The evening's special guest of honour was his boss, the visiting Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
On May 28, he turns 55. For Gor, who played host and master of ceremonies at the America 250 event, the precise date was merely a detail. A few days here or there would not be a showstopper.
And so the birthday celebrations were on. "Alright, so as everybody knows, we also have a birthday," announced Gor from the giant stage at the Mandapam - moments after AR Rahman had belted out his greatest hits, including the iconic Oscar-winning Jai Ho from the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. "Can we get the Secretary up here?" roared Gor to thunderous applause from an audience that included dozens of staff from US missions across India. He then launched into a chant: "Marco! Marco! Marco!" - his clenched fist punching the air.
This was the US Ambassador - supposedly a bureaucrat - shouting out to his boss, the powerful US Secretary of State, by his first name. The crowd instantly joined in, the chant building to a crescendo. "He's finally 21," joked Gor as Marco Rubio - Donald Trump's right-hand man - jogged up to the stage. India's Foreign Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, seated quietly in the VIP enclosure, looked on as Rubio approached a gigantic four-tier birthday cake topped with a single candle.
Marco Rubio's Pre-Birthday Celebration With Cake In Delhi Ft. Village Peoplehttps://t.co/49tw1xarpW pic.twitter.com/zI0zSuGDGE
— NDTV (@ndtv) May 24, 2026
It was over-the-top and in-your-face, but it was a riot - the most unusual celebration of American diplomacy in what is being seen as a major outreach to India after a year of strained ties linked to US sanctions over Russian oil imports and differences over Trump's claim that he had ended last May's 88-hour war between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
Rubio was greeted not only by his Ambassador but also by The Village People, the legendary US disco group formed in New York's Greenwich Village in 1977. Known for their flamboyant on-stage costumes and global hits like "Macho Man," "In the Navy," and "Y.M.C.A." - Donald Trump's personal go-to rally anthem - the band turned the evening electric. "Y.M.C.A." is the song that routinely plays at the end of Trump's campaign rallies and fundraisers, where the President performs his now-iconic "Trump dance": rhythmic side-to-side hip sways alternating with fist pumps in the air, often ending with a playful mock golf swing.
Trump may not have been in Delhi, but you could bet your bottom dollar that "Y.M.C.A." was going to be the evening's showstopper. First, though, the group sang "Happy Birthday" as Rubio blew out the candle. Then they rocked the hall.
If Gor's personal connection with the Secretary of State was evident before the final act, it was his live on-stage phone call with Donald Trump - broadcast from his smartphone - that delivered the ultimate display of personal power. "I love the Prime Minister. Modi is my friend. I just wanted to say that India can count on me 100 per cent," Trump told Gor. "They know who to call - they can call right here. Anything India wants, India gets. I am a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi."
"India can count on me 100%": US President Donald Trump dials in US celebrations in New Delhi, hails India-US ties pic.twitter.com/zJOjFlEITu
— NDTV (@ndtv) May 24, 2026
Sergio Gor's unconventional approach to building the India relationship is unlike anything his Embassy staffers have ever seen. Everything is kept fluid, decisions are taken on the fly. Gor doesn't lose a moment, and red tape and bureaucracy simply cannot keep up with him. He does what he feels convinced is right - in this case, strengthening the India relationship.
Meetings are scheduled, others are suddenly cancelled, and events like America 250 in India unfold at a scale most would never have imagined possible.
This unpredictability also has its occasional benefits. On Saturday afternoon, I sat in the 45-degree heat outside the new US Annexe, part of the sprawling Embassy complex in New Delhi. Marco Rubio, who had just flown in from Kolkata - his first stop in India - was scheduled to inaugurate the building and deliver a press statement.
I was waiting with a dozen-odd fellow journalists, while at least 15 camera persons had taken their positions on the riser behind us.
We waited with the familiar banter of friends on the international beat.
That's when I got the call.
"You need to move," a US Embassy officer told me.
"Move where?" I asked, clueless.
"Yeah, so get your camera guy and just leave."
"Leave?" I asked.
"You heard me."
I jumped up, rushed to Ashok Mahale, my old friend assigned to shoot Rubio's statement. "Nikalna hain," I told him. He refused at first, not wanting to lose his prime spot among the cameras. "Abhi," I insisted, followed by a short, flowery exchange.
We escaped, dragging our equipment away from the others and hoping no one had noticed.
This happens sometimes in journalism. Nothing beats the smell of a scoop.
I thought I would be interviewing Gor.
"Mr Som?" a gentleman in a black suit approached me.
"Yes?"
"Yeah, you're with me."
"Right."
We rushed out of the Annexe compound, crossed the road, cleared security at the main Embassy entrance, and entered the landmark building.
"You have ten minutes with the Secretary," I was told as I stepped inside.
Just like that.
Gor had picked me - I'm pretty sure - at the eleventh hour. I had been trying for a month to land the interview, as had others.
Our conversation with Marco Rubio made international headlines. We covered Iran and the possibility of strikes, the India-US strategic relationship, visa concerns for Indians seeking Green Cards, and a couple of other key points.
We broadcast the interview live.
I had alerted only a small group of editors at work ten minutes earlier. I've seen big interviews collapse at the last minute, so it's best not to raise expectations.
In February, I had cut short my wedding anniversary celebrations, racing from Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan to Mumbai at 3 am for what was supposed to be an exclusive with Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand. Five minutes before we were to start, I received a message: the war had broken out, the Minister had to focus on evacuating Canadians from the Persian Gulf, and the NDTV interview was cancelled.
Not so this Saturday. Rubio walked in, sat beside me, and spoke directly and candidly on every issue.
That same flair for the unexpected defined Gor's very first day in India. When he arrived at the US Embassy in New Delhi on January 12, 2026, to take charge as Ambassador-designate, he ditched diplomatic decorum for a full-throated rock-and-roll welcome. Loudspeakers blasted Sam & Dave's soul classic "Hold On, I'm Comin'" as he strode in, followed by a rousing close with The Village People's "Y.M.C.A." - the very anthem that would later light up the Bharat Mandapam stage. It was less a traditional swearing-in and more a high-energy rally, instantly signalling that this Ambassador would do things his way.
In the end, Sergio Gor has brought a refreshingly bold, personal, and unapologetically energetic style to one of the world's most important diplomatic relationships - proving that sometimes the best way to strengthen ties between the world's oldest and largest democracies is to turn up the music, cut the cake, and let the good times roll.
(The author is Senior Managing Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
