Hello Shubosree

What a wonderful thing this jadu ki jhapi is no. I am so happy you write about this. I love to hug when I am sad and lonely. I feel good and stop crying at once and my mom does not hug much but Papa hugs more than her. I have a big toy bear which I luv hugging when I am sad. And best of all my dog Bruno who waits for my hugs. He is the bestest hugger in the world. I think all people should hug and they will not less angry. You should hug your frind in work everyday and she will then kno why it is so good.
My big hug to you
Thankx

Is it inspired by my comment? ; - )

Cheers, Rohit

very true...the healing power of a touch, a hug a caress..no coincidence that lot of healing techniques transfer their energies through touch...

Shubhosree,

As a doctor I have seen that when I hold the patients hands and talk to them in the morning rounds, they feel very secure and relieved. If I maitain distance and speak then the cheer is lost from their faces.

Touch indeed is a very powerful tool to heal and to spread joy.

Good point Shubz

I remember reading a research on babies in an orphanage where they segregated two sets of babies; one were hugged and held and the other were not to find that within a week the babies that were not hugged broke out in a rash, cried constantly and had trouble digesting their milk. A fairly obvious statement that physical touch/love/reassurance is essential for human well-being.

Thank you all for sharing your views.

I have always been a believer in the power of a touch. It is therapeutic. In fact there are times when you dont need to say a word and just holding someone's hand speaks volumes. No amount of words can be as assuring as a hug which says "I am right here".

But my question remains - why do some people feel uncomfortable with it? Why do they live in denial of their issues and not address the core problem which holds them back? May be talking about it here could be a start!

Looking forward to more thoughts from everyone ....

second you entirely on the power of a touch...i find it a hormonal need...to touch and to be touched.in this context, they are not independent of people in the interface; chemistries do come into play.
the underlying tones can be sexual; they need not...
while i respect people who may not share the perspective and consequently find the activity unenjoyable,i believe a lot of resistance to emerge from underlying social judgements and stigma associated with the process."fear" is a great inhibitor...fear of being judged, fear of social ostracization...and the sacrifice is invariably about "not being oneself".
on the other hand, there are people we love and care about, like our parents, who may not identify with such perspectives.we do not wish to hurt them.in such a situtaion, i am comfortable with discretion being the better part of valour.we may always find spaces where we are able to be ourselves.To me,in heightened states of awareness, such discretion is never detrimental.
while perse, i am not in favour of wearing masks, it is important to discover spaces and reach out to them, where one is able to be oneself withouit fear of being judged or ostracized.
They are integral spaces.

Hi Shubhosree,
It's a lovely article.You know,when I was young I never got any hugs or kisses from my near and dear ones.Not that it made me feel less loved or unwanted.In fact such 'touching'scenes would have made me cringe.It was only after the birth of my 2 lovely children that I got to know of the wonderful feeling of hugging.Now,the first thing that I do when my daughter wakes up is to give her a big 'jaadu ki jhappi'.And my son,who is now working,also gets a big 'jaadu ki jhappi' whenever he gives me the opportunity :-)

I think all this hugging-shugging is girly stuff. Girls like to hug and cry. I am a boy. How can I hug my sister or mother?

hey young man,
i am 40 years old....i still cry , i like to be hugged...i like to hug some...it is never made me feel lesser as a man...i do not know where you picked this one about it being "girly-shirly"...but trust me if want to, it takes more of you as a man to allow yourself to be yourself...rather than do something which you feel you should be....

I agree with you Sundar. It is time we all stepped out of the confines of being just men/women and tried the route of being natural/spontaneous and trusting our own heart on how it wishes to express a certain emotion. Who knows one might discover a whole new heaven within not to mention how you could trigger spontaneous self-expression in so many others around you.

My respects to the author for the article are explicit in the fact that I am putting her first every one else in this comment:
Shubhosree, Sundar: I think I've had (still do) my own "thoughtosphere" ;-) (may be more than one with some unavoidable osmosis too). And I'm sure we all have one of our own. But somehow many of us don't realize how important or enlightening it can be to have one of your own. A place where you're Not tied to/by any thing/one. Un-influenced, un-biased thinking is what we should strive for (YES! i know many would rather be more "realistic/practical" and all ... and hence I added the "should strive for") ;-).
This "thoughosphere" includes times when we are humble enough to admit where we are wrong, kiddish enough to think a bit naughty, and so much more of "uncensored, unrestricted, free thinking".
Shubhosree, Sundar & Jasjeet: ditto! on what you guys feel about that heindering thought due any social or other influences. I recently realized and further ironed upon by this article/section how much one loses when one confuses masculinity with this simple yet powerful "gesture".
Shubhosree (alone): I can relate to this so easily now. I have very few friends (i'd like to blame it on my job) and some have grown more than just friends. For those few I'm ready to do just about anything. I feel like expressing it to them everytime I see them, talk to them, want to tell them how much they mean to me and may be much more. And I find it so hard to all that in just one meeting. But as you said it "just holding there hand" for a moment can convey all of that in just 10 seconds. I know it works from my experiences with my little nience who hugs me every now and then and I seem to just get back on track - happy, just so deeply satisfied & grateful that someone does that to me even when I've forgotten to give it to her first.
I can write much more (as if its not already visible) but here's to conclude.

I admire the bit you'r doing for the society here.

Careful
[not so careful about how much to write in a comment :-)) ]
... but hey what the heck ... That's the definition of a Blog (ain't it :-(

Thanks Careful for supporting the blog. And good to know that you believe in the "Gesture" :)

Cheers!

Hey Shubhz!

excellent article....just about emanates the warmth that comes with you:-)

Rock on!

cheers,
neha.

hi there Neha!

Good to see you on the blog :)

Thanks for the nice words and I hope you will keep visiting the blog, now that you liked what you saw :)

Have a great day ahead!

This is a very interesting thought that you've raised.We seem to have gotten so embroiled in prudish beliefs and fears that we've forgotten about the healing human touch.

The article is wonderful. I have seen 'people are afraid of the society' and hence of this magical touch.