It was late at night and I decided to surf the news channels before going to bed yesterday. On CNN they were showing live coverage of the world leaders arriving at 10, Downing Street for a “Working Dinner”. With dismay, I realized that except for our own Manmohan Singh, France’s Sarcozy, Germany’s Merkel and of course US prez Obama, I didn’t know any world leader by either sight or name.

It was amusing to see, though, how Sarah and Gordon Brown welcomed all the leaders – some going it solo, some arriving with their spouses – and directed them to face cameras first this way and then that. Some of the guests seemed momentarily confused by the order in which they were supposed to stand for the advantage of the media – the males next to Mrs. Brown and the ladies next to Mr. Brown.

I wondered if at the back of her mind, Sarah Brown was wondering, like any good hostess, about whether her guests will like the dinner menu or not – especially as they came from different parts of the world. :-) I also wondered about who was keeping track of whether everyone has arrived or not. And who was that lady who slipped into the PM's residence by herself?

If for a moment, we keep aside the fact that the world is full of countries that are sworn enemies of each other, it felt good to see all these people who are leading their countries to gather together in one place, smiling at each other (if only for the benefit of the cameras!) and chitchatting on the steps for a while before going in. If only, we could manage to resolve all our differences, the world will be a much better place to stay in. :-(