Our beautiful and frighteningly posh guide in Budapest insisted on clicking me with 'those Russian guns' ( as she scoffed). It was obvious from her tone that she loathed the memory of the 40 year Russian occupation of her country. I abhor guns... any weapon.... any violence. I was a reluctant model, as you can tell from my scowl. Interestingly enough, at this impressive park on the Buda side of the city, there are a few statues from that zamaana.... but the Russian plaques have been removed , replaced by Hungarian ones that salute the soldiers who died during the many wars. Other gigantic Russian statues have been banished to a distant spot - a graveyard for old, hated reminders of an oppressive past.

On a more positive note, I received the sweetest call from a 'brother' across the border. He remembered it's 'Raksha Bandhan' tomorrow and wanted to greet me.Asif Noorani is a senior journalist\author who lives in Karachi. We have been friends for years. I do hope our calls are monitored because we speak of nothing else but friendship between the two nations. We also talk about the moral corruption that impedes this process - when both sides can boast of clean politicians genuinely interested in forging bonds, nothing in the world will be able to stop us from reaching out to one another in a loving fashion. Enough of hatred and terror. On this wonderful occasion when countless sisters tie 'raakhis' on the wrists of their brothers, all I can wish for his more Asifs and less Qasabs.