Ran across this video early this morning and thought it was worth sharing to others.  The campaign for free hugs had the idea to bring light and smiles into the faces of our fellow brothers and sisters.  This is social activism at its finest, a black bold marker along with a ripped off square of cardboard was the necessary tools to reach out to the masses. Do you ever feel as if we are separated and disconnected? I know I sure do at times.

Do you want to know how we make a bad situation positive, we need to come together as a whole. We cannot have any worthy progress if we have this brick wall separating social classes. Next time you are strolling around in a busy area take notice of the lack of human eye contact and it will highlight the social dis-connectivity our society faces today.  We should all  make a sound attempt at meeting someone new daily, who knows maybe he or she will become a new friend.

-Jack C. Buck

Por que un abrazo NUNCA esta de más. Quien no se ha sentido tan mal, que solo necesita que alguien lo abrace?, pero… y que tal si no hay NADIE quien te pueda dar ese abrazo? Así surgio esta idea:

Free hugs es la historia de la vida real de Juan Mann, un hombre cuya misión es ir y abrazar a un extraño, para iluminar un poco su vida.  Él cuenta:

Estaba viviendo en Londres, cuando mi mundo se volvio al revés y tuve que regresar a mi hogar. Cuando mi avión aterrizó en Sidney, lo unico que me quedaba era una maleta con mi ropa y un mundo de problemas. Nadie estaba para recibirme, ni un lugar al cual llamar casa. Era un turista en mi propia ciudad natal.

Parado en la terminal de las llegadas, viendo como otros pasajeros se reencontraban con su famila y amigos, con los brazos abiertos y sonrisas, abrazandose y riendo juntos, yo queria a alguien ahi que estuviera esperandome, que estuviera feliz de verme, que me sonriera, que me abrazara.

Asi que tome una cartulina y un marcador e hice una señal. Encontré el cruce de peatones más concurrido en la ciudad y mantuve esta cartulina en lo alto, con las palabras “Free Hugs” en ambos lados.

Por 15 minutos, la gente se me quedo viendo. La primera persona que se detuvo, me toco en el hombro y me dijo que su perro habia muerto esa misma mañana. Como esa mañana era el aniversario de la muerte de su única hija, fallecida en un accidente automovilístico. Que lo único que queria en ese momento, sintiendose la persona mas sola en el mundo, era un abrazo. Me puse en una rodilla y pusimos nuestros brazos alrededor de cada uno, y cuando nos separamos, ella sonreía.

Todo mundo tiene problemas y con seguridad, no se comparan con los mios. Pero ver a alguien que alguna vez estuvo enojado o triste, sonreir por un momento, vale la pena.

Realmente sencillo… y hermoso.

Enlace: Official Home of the Free Hugs Campaign

Eu sei que minhas postagens tem sido cada vez mais remotas neste blog, mas eu não esqueci dele não…

Então, há aproximadamente dois anos, eu não me lembro quem, onde nem como eu fiquei sabendo deste vídeo:

O protagonista desse vídeo é Ary Itnem Whitacker. O vídeo foi feito em 2006 quando o consultor de Recursos Humanos tinha seus 46 anos de idade. O que inspirou Ary foi, segundo ele, a “inércia do afastamento causada pela tecnologia” e ele alega que tinha notado isso no relacionamento com seu filho adolescente. Ary afirma ainda que “o abraço nos faz lembrar quem somos”. O vídeo de Ary é uma dedicatória a outro certo homem que iniciou toda essa moda. Seu nome? Juan Mann. Juan Mann (cuja pronúncia do nome, que na verdade é um pseudônimo, lembra as palavras em inglês “one man” ou “um homem” em português) é um jovem australiano que teve a idéia de fazer uma campanha onde ele saía pelas ruas de Sidney na Austrália, onde morava, a fim de aproximar mais as pessoas e se aproximais mais delas. A campanha se chama Free Hugs (abraços gratuitos).

O vídeo original de Juan é esse:

E a seguir vem um tradução e adaptação feita por mim do que Juan escreveu no site ele mantém sobre a campanha, o FreeHugsCompaign.org:

“Às vezes, um abraço é tudo de que precisamos.
Free Hugs é uma história controversa da vida real de Juan Mann, um homem cuja única missão era chegar e abraçar estranhos para iluminar suas vidas.

Nesses tempos de ‘desconectividade social’ e falta de contato humano os efeitos da campanha Free Hugs tornaram-se fenomenais.

Como este símbolo da esperança humana se espalhou pela cidade, policiais e autoridades locais ordenaram que a campanha Free Hugs fosse BANIDA. O que, então, testemunhamos foi o verdadeiro espírito de humanidade que se reúne no que pode ser descrito como ‘temor inspirador’.

No espírito da campanha Free Hugs, passe isso a um amigo e abrace um estranho! Afinal, você só pode chegar a uma pessoa por vez…

Como tudo começou:   -por Juan Mann

Eu morava em Londres quando meu mundo virou de cabeça para baixo e tinha que voltar para a casa. Até o momento, meu avião tinha pousado de volta em Sidney e tudo o que eu tinha era uma mala cheia de roupas e um mundo de problemas. Ninguém para saudar-me de volta, nenhum lugar para chamar de lar. Eu era um turista em minha cidade natal.

De pé lá no terminal de chegada, assisindo aos outros passageiros reencontrando-se com seus amigos e família que estavam lhes esperando com braços abertos e rostos sorridentes, abraçando-se e rindo juntos, eu queria ter alguém lá fora esperando por mim, alguém para estar feliz em me ver, para sorrir para mim. Alguém para me abraçar.

Então, eu peguei um pedaço de papelão e um marcador e fiz uma placa. Encontrei o cruzamento de pessoas mais movimentado da cidade e segurei a placa no alto, escritas as palavras “Free Hugs” dos dois lados.

Durante 15 minutos, as pessoas apenas viam direito através de mim. A primeira pessoa que parou deu tapinhas em meu ombro e me contou como o cachorro dela acabara de morrer naquela manhã. Como aquela manhã tinha sido a de aniversário de um ano de morte de sua única filha num acidente de carro. Como o que ela precisava agora, quando ela se sentia a mais sozinha no mundo, era de um abraço. Eu me abaixei apoiando em um dos joelhos, nós colocamos nossos braços ao redor um do outro e quando nós nos afastamos, ela estava sorrindo.

Todo mundo tem problemas e com certeza os meus não tem comparado, mas para ver alguém que estava de cara amarrada sorrir, mesmo por um instante, vale a pena cada momento.

Por que foi proibido?

Medo da responsabilidade pública e burocracia. Mas está tudo certo agora! Tenha certeza ao checar suas leis locais antes de embarcar na sua “maratona dos abraços!”

Agradecimentos especiais
Eu apenas gostaria de agradecer ao Sick Puppies por sua incrível música “All the Same” que nunca faria do vídeo da campanha do Free Hugs o mesmo sem ela.
Para a música deles visite: http://www.sickpuppies.net!”

É interessante saber que Juan conseguiu um total de 10 mil assinaturas de transeuntes a fim de ter a campanha liberada novamente. Encontrei conteúdo também na Wikipédia (em inglês): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Hugs_Campaign.

No perfil que Juan mantém no YouTube, onde postou o vídeo que coloquei aqui, ele posta vídeos da campanha feita por várias pessoas em várias cidades do planeta. Inclusive, é possível encontrar vídeos feitos por brasileiros também. Eu mesmo ainda farei uma campanha em algum lugar movimentado que frequento, com direito a vídeo e envio a Juan Mann. Isso não vai ser possível por enquanto devido à Gripe A (H1N1), mas assim que possível, farei.

Bom, espero que tenham gostado! E eu gostaria de fazer um pedido para qualquer um que possa, mas principalmente para meus amigos ‘feras’ em inglês Diego e Willian, para se caso tiverem algum sugestão para melhorar a tradução/adaptação bem como erros, por favor, eu agradeceria! ;D

在人生旅途中，总有悲欢离合，起起落落。

在最悲伤的时候，我们可能最需要的只是一个善意的拥抱，一个鼓励的微笑，一个关怀的眼神，或是轻轻的拍一下肩膀，那我们又能振作再走下去、或让希望重生。

昨天与武吉公满的村民相见时，我可感受到他们点点的愤怒与失落，虽面对警察与厂方散发的“白色恐怖”，可是村民的士气还蛮高昂的。

听到黄伯谈到被高官冷漠对待、对前途的迷茫，Pak Mansor说起被同伴背叛的失望，看到丘伯谈到被手拷、被警察扣留24小时的悲愤，再看到张少平遗孀说到激动而哭时，我有点无措，只能给这个第一次见面的长者一个小抱以示鼓励。

这让我想起了Free Hugs Campaign，这个关怀运动是一个叫Juan Mann的人在30/06/2004年发起的，Juan 的人生目标很简单，只希望给每一个陌生人一个拥抱一个笑脸，感染其他人开心点快乐点，如能与你分忧那更好。至今已有66千人加入Free Hug Campaign并给与百万人一个温暖的拥抱。

在武吉公满，我看不到冷漠只有热情。村民保卫家园的精神感动了很多人，每个关心的朋友都愿意伸出援手。

在此我将我的拥抱献给武吉公满的村民。如你们感到有点失落或情绪低沉时，请跟同伴谈谈，或互相给个拥抱或鼓励的笑容，感染其他人振作点勇敢点吧。请不要悲伤，我们将与你们同在，我相信最后的胜利是属于武吉公满的。

如你要鼓励武吉公满的村民们或加入抗争行列，请您

• 游览“反山埃保家园”的网站， 或
• 加入”Against License to Kill” 的Face Book

相关博文

• 黄金与人命，何者价更高？
• 向武吉公满斗士至上万二分敬意！

De ce scriu acum despre asta? Nu intru in detalii prea multe, unii stiti ce e cu “Free Hugs (Imbratisari Gratuite)”, unii nu stiti (cautati pe Sf. Gugăl). Eu vreau doar sa pun aici un video care a adunat vizualizari de doua ori cat populatia Romaniei (44,5 milioane), si peste 80 mii comentarii!!!. Este vorba despre clipul postat de cel care a initiat aceasta campanie in 2004.

In Romania are loc deja de 2 ani (?) iar in mai anul asta a avut loc in 111 orase ale tarii.

Lembram da campanha Free Hugs? Enfim, pra quem não conhece foi uma campanha levantada por Juan Mann, um homem que morava em Londres e ao enfrentar uma série de problemas em sua vida, teve que retornar a sua terra natal, Sidney. No desembarque, como de costume, pessoas reencontram seus familiares e amigos…e se abraçam. Mas Juan não tinha ninguém o aguardando para abraça-lo. Pegou uma cartolina e escreveu em ambos os lados as seguintes palavras mágicas: Free Hugs. Foi para o cruzamento mais movimentado da cidade e começou a sinalizar aquilo que parecia a oferta mais maluca de todos os tempos. Depois de 15 minutos de muitos olhares curiosos e até mesmo espantados uma pessoa o abordou contando sobre a perda de um familiar e que aquilo que mais precisava naquele momento era justamente um abraço. Pronto! Começou assim uma das campanhas mais bem sucedidas que atravessou fronteiras através da internet – Free Hugs Campaign (http://www.freehugscampaign.org/).

Seu vídeo original já foi visto mais de 42 milhões de vezes somente no You Tube e seu gesto reproduzido em inúmeros países. Já são aproximadamente 10 mil vídeos combinando as palavras Free Hugs neste portal, além de 3,3 milhões de resultados no Google.

E números tão expressivos como estes não passam incólumes na rede, afinal a rede também é terra de gaiato. Então segue a mais recente e uma das mais bem sucedidas paródias ao fenômeno Free Hug Campaign…Free Hugs Prank: $2 Deluxe Hugs (by Mediocre Films).

The Free Hugs campaign was started back in 2006 with Juan Mann in Australia. He walked around public shopping malls holding large signs saying “Free Hugs” and he would give everyone who approached him a free hug. Soon shopping centers began to ban him as the city said that he did not have permission nor insurance should anyone get hurt while he was giving him hugs. After receiving 10,000 signatures on a petition he was allowed to continue giving free hugs to people. His movement has spread across the world and there are now people organizing Free Hugs events in most major cities. Check out the video below. The background music is from Sick Puppies.

This video is proof that one individual CAN make a difference – not only in the world, but also, in someone else’s life.

One Love.

In this age of social-disconnection most all of us lack that simple human touch from another, the effects of the Free Hugs Campaign are now felt around the globe.

In this society people are already drugging themselves with antidepressants at an alarming rate.

Science has a say in this: no drug is compared to what we feel when we experience connectedness with another human being. See the following video and tell me if it touched you.

Youtube video of the year 2006!

Juan Mann aka "Free Hug-Man" in Australia

If you don’t live in an over-crowded city, chances are you haven’t encountered a (mostly) young, scruffy individual offering a free hug as you dash into or out of the subway or bus or are racing around the mall. But all around the world, expressions of unity and love are outpouring as more and more people are offering “free hugs”.

Years ago in Australia, Juan Mann found himself returning to his home country a stranger, with no one waiting to welcome him home. He had nothing, least of all what he needed: a hug from someone who was glad to hold him. So he wrote “Free Hugs” on both sides of a piece of cardboard, and a revolution was started. As I sit here, in a Starbucks typing this entry, I’m awash with tears from just having watched the short video documentary. So trust me, take three minutes and check it out:

Just a few weeks ago, an online social networking site I’m a member of, couchsurfing.com, was organizing a free-hug campaign in Union Square. I wasn’t able to make this one, but you’d better believe that at some point I’ll be organizing one of these events!

My friends, today’s guru is Juan Mann… and our mantra is…

We Are All One

It’s easy to forget this, especially when you live in a city where our animalistic aggression comes out more than we’d like it to and even the most yogic of people have moments where they want to stick a foot out and trip someone who’s pissed them off! So let’s remember that, when the chips are down, we’re never alone. The capacity of the human spirit to love and support is unceasing, endless. And, especially for those who often feel isolated in their sickness and suffering, knowing that humanity has your back can make all the difference.

Om Shanti, - Jacqueline

Sources:

• Free Hugs Campaign Official Website!
• Couchsurfing.com
• Free Hug Man in Australia: Article
• Campaign in London in 2005 using hugs to counter-balance election stress

You can’t put a plaster on your heart,
Can’t you?

Sometimes,
A hug is all that we need.

บางครั้ง,
เราก็เพียงแค่ต้องการอ้อมกอดของใครสักคน

I’d been living in London when my world turned upside down and I’d had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven’t compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time.

I think,
this is the best music video
because it’s real and it’s touching
all the same

Happy Valentine’s Day

p.s.
Tomorrow,
if you see someone wearing Free Hug T-Shirt,
that’s me.

Notes
- “When your body hurts, you can put plaster on your wound. But when it is inside. You can’t put a plaster on your heart, can’t you?” Quote I got from Tape; one of her lovehurtsproject subject said it during interview.
- Other quotes came from Free Hugs Campaign Official Site
- The song playing is “All the Same” by Sick Puppies

The other day I received an invitation on Facebook to attend Free Hug Day. 
Free Hug Day evolved out of the Free Hug Campaign.
The Free Hug Campaign was started by a guy named Juan Mann.
And he believes everyone is intitled to a free hug. 

Visitors to www.FreeHugsCampaign.org are invited to join the movement! The first thing Juan tells those interested in joining the movement: Ready to change the world with nothing but your arms wide open?

I am not a touchy-feely person. I shake hands with strangers. Hug friends. And hold hands with my wife. But I am not one of those people that invades others’ space. That said, I understand where Juan Mann is going with his movement. Hugs are great. I love hugging my wife when I get home from work or hugging my dog when I get home from a long business trip.

I don’t love hugging strangers.
Juan does.

Juan also suggests that we could change the world with nothing but our arms open wide.
Pretend for a second that Juan were a Christian. Offering free love. 
Would his campaign be effective?

Jesus changed my world with his arms opened wide. Jesus offers me free love.
More than that, he offers me free grace. And mercy. And forgiveness. And salvation. And a one-on-one, personal relationship. For free.

Do I want a free hug? Nah, homie. I got free love. And for me, that free love is better than any free hug Juan could offer me.

Juan Mann är mannen som startade “The FREE HUGS campaign” i Australien. Det går ut på att vara snäll mot en främling utan att vilja ha någonting tillbaka, att sprida kärlek genom någonting så enkelt som en kram.

Besök gärna sidan http://www.freehugscampaign.org/ och ta del av rörelsen. Det finns också FREE HUGS t-shirtar att köpa för bara 150 SEK!
Sprid kärleken, kramas mera!

We were new in town. We were tired and alone. And we needed some holiday cheer. So we visited a living nativity staged by a local church. Despite the winter chill in the air, they greeted us warmly: steaming Styrofoam cups filled with hot chocolate; oven-baked cookies with red and green sprinkles softening on top; sincere, toothy grins and firm handshakes through Thinsulate gloves; real, honest-to-God livestock that snorted mist into the starlit night.

Right in the middle of town, along a main thoroughfare, amidst everlasting, frantic holiday traffic and indiscriminate weather systems, this event had become a yearly tradition. For the friendly congregants we met that evening, the week-long living nativity had become a labor of love, a free hug bestowed upon the community, and a chance to slow down and contemplate the real meaning of Christmas – God with us.

We felt something that night. My wife and I smiled at each other as we shuffled to our car, both realizing perhaps simultaneously that we had found a church to call home.

The following year, we gave back what had been given to us the previous Christmas.

I played the part of the innkeeper, the one who had no room in his Motel 6 for Mary and Joseph. My son, snuggled up in snow pants and draped in a tunic, played the innkeeper’s son, a non-Biblical character we made up just so he could play a part and spread the joy of the season with his dear old dad. Visitors chuckled as he directed them, in his tiny yet boisterous six-year-old way, to check the stables, under the star. Maybe they’d find the baby Jesus there . . .

Then the church decided to relocate. The powers-that-be accepted a juicy offer for the land (where a Home Depot sprang up almost immediately after our departure), so we moved to the northern edge of town, occupied a prime piece of real estate amidst the sprawl of suburbia where rich young couples were building big homes and popping out babies that needed Jesus, and built a mega-church. We tried to stage the living nativity the first year on Mayhew, but the weather turned bad and attendance was spotty at best. So the following year, they presented a dinner-theater style production, complete with a four-course meal and minstrels singing carols.

The spirit had died.

Before the move, the nativity pumped the blood of life through veins that had grown cold and weary. The stress of the season succumbed to the joyous anticipation of a new year as young and old, rich and poor, donned costumes and braved the elements to share moments of delight with strangers and friends. We did it because we loved people above all else and wanted to thank them for pausing and singing hosanna with our motley, off-key and shivering choir of humans draped with plastic wings. We didn’t take ourselves too seriously back then.

But somewhere in the transition, we got way too serious. Just prior to the move our pastor died suddenly of a brain tumor. A gentle and friendly soul, he led our flock with a rare meekness, and kept his office door open. His death cast a pall over the church that eventually became a righteous urgency. Misguided vigor crept upon the members and the business of evangelism and outreach took over, for we were in new territory that stood ripe for picking. Simple expressions of compassion and love were replaced with committees and their organized programs and puffed up displays. The smiles weren’t genuine anymore. Instead they turned saccharine and omnipresent. Sickeningly sweet and bitter to me, and I hated them. We were a show, a summer blockbuster short on talent but long on special effects and marketing hoopla. People came, the pews filled up, but the heart had vanished.

In those years lay my own nativity of sorts. The circumstances of my surroundings, the trappings of organized religion, birthed in me a mind weary of The Show. I played the part and almost let the smugness of it all consume me. Fortunately, I have removed the blinders and can see now that what we all need, perhaps what we all cherish more than anything, is an unencumbered hug . . .

Free Hugs Campaign.  Read about it, and go hug someone . . .

[photo credit]

Simpelt.. og dog genialt…

Cum ar fi, ca atunci când mergi abătut pe stradă gândindu-te la toate problemele pe care le ai, să vină o persoană necunoscută să te ia în braţe? Ți s-ar părea ciudat, nu? Ei bine, acest lucru s-ar putea întâmpla. Lumebuna.ro, singurul portal din România specializat în ştiri pozitive, va lansa pe 30 octombrie, campania “Free Hugs” în 13 oraşe din România.

Oraşele în care echipele vor oferi îmbrăţisări gratuite sunt: : Braşov, Bucureşti, Cluj-Napoca, Constanţa, Craiova, Galaţi, Iaşi, Oradea, Piteşti, Ploieşti, Sibiu, Târgu-Mureş şi Timişoara. În Bucureşti, echipa Lumebuna.ro se va afla în Piaţa Universităţii. Campania “Free Hugs” a fost iniţiată în 2004 de australianul Juan Mann, care le oferea necunoscuţilor de pe stradă îmbrăţişări gratuite, pentru a le lumina ziua şi a contribui la  binele comun.

Cercetătorii americani au ajuns la concluzia că atunci când îmbrăţişează, corpul uman eliberează o substanţă numită oxitocină, care influenţează felul în care socializam şi creşte încrederea de sine şi în cei din jur, concomitent cu diminuarea fricii. Proiectul s-a răspandit în scurt timp în 80 de ţări şi are acum o zi oficială a cărei dată diferă de la an la an. În România, prima dată când tinerii au ieşit pe stradă cu pancarte “Free Hugs” a fost  23 decembrie 2006.

Sursa: Liberatatea.ro

自由 – 张震岳

也許會恨你
我知道我的脾氣不是很好
也許不一定
我知道我還是一樣愛著你
打開一瓶紅色的酒
看著金魚游來游去
是否我們都想要自由

我沒有關係　你可以假裝沒事離開這裡
一切好安靜　我只是想把情緒好好壓抑
到底誰會先說再見　我知道我一定哭泣
走的時候記得說愛我　愛我

說愛我　說愛我　難道你不再愛我
我的淚　滴下來　你從來不曾看過
為什麼　為什麼　愛情讓人變沉重
沒有人　告訴我　原來不是我想像

不要回來　你已經自由了
我也已經自由了

最近我的J老公和王子很喜欢这首歌的咯～一个是失恋了，另一个是干嘛啊？被失恋的感染到了？还是在暗恋人？哈哈哈。。。不懂他们啦～
张震岳的歌很好听一下的咯～比如说再见、思念是一种病、爱我别走、干妹妹等等的，他唱歌的方式很特别，不用穿很美的服装，舞台也不用设计到很美，他只要一个人站在台上，一开声，整个就可以high起来了。。。

×××　×××　×××　×××　我是分隔线　×××　×××　×××　×××

Free Hugs Campaign [All The Same - Sick Puppies]

I dont mind where you come from
As long as you come to me
But I dont like illusions I cant see
Them clearly
I dont care, no I wouldn’t dare
To fix the twist in you
You’ve shown me eventually what you’ll do
I dont mind
I dont care
As long as you’re here

[Chorus]

Go ahead and tell me you’ll leave again
You’ll just come back running
Holding your scarred heart in hand
It’s all the same
And I’ll take you for who you are
If you take me for everything
And do it all over again
It’s all the same

Hours slide and days go by
Till you decide to come
But in-between it always seems too long
Suddenly
But I have the skill, yeah
I have the will, to breath you in while I can
However long you stay is all that I am

I dont mind, I dont care
As long as you’re here

Go ahead and tell me you’ll leave again
You’ll just come back running
Holding your scarred heart in hand
It’s all the same
And I’ll take you for who you are
If you take me for everything
And do it all over again
It’s always the same

Wrong or Right
Black or White
If I close my eyes
Its all the same

In my life
The compromise
I’ll close my eyes
Its all the same

Go ahead say it
You’re leaving
You’ll just come back running
Holding your scarred heart in hand
It’s all the same
And I’ll take you for who you are now
If you take me for everything
Do it all over again
It’s all the same

Free Hugs的创始人是Juan Mann，很帅的一个人。我看了这个video有一种很感动的感觉咯～你呢？看了这个video以后，我决定了，以后有机会我也要在马来西亚办一个Free Hugs Campaign，哈哈哈～但是妈妈说在马来西亚好像不太安全，叫我去西方国家抱比较好，哈哈哈。。。

I am back to regular writing after exactly a month-long hiatus. For people who have been checking this blog, you would know what I was upto : Link.

Foreword : This is a very long post. Actually, even longer. And heavily judgemental [:)].

As much as I am going to miss freaking out people by saying that I am going to visit Ladakh alone, I must add that the best way to travel is undoubtedly doing it alone ! If experiences, people and adventure is what you are looking for, there is no better way than doing it alone. And in that sense, I had a terrific trip.

The highlights of the trip : The winner, hands down, meeting people. Be it the senior citizen, a photographer, whom I met at a park in Jaipur to the Bulgarian mountain guide who was on his world trip to a person who is a professional ‘vote-buyer’ to the security guard at the airport who chatted for over an hour ! The runner-up, visiting villages in India. Put the above two together and you have an experience.

The trip started off with my landing in Delhi, where I was graciously hosted by a friend at his apartment. But not before 4 of us squeezed into an 800 with 3 suitcases of mine. I was home. The first evening was exactly what Rabbi meant when he wrote Dilli. The next day was a trip around Delhi. I was really happy to visit Rajghat (I have gone through the fan-of-Godse phase, but thankfully, I am back to wiser days). Next, Jama Masjid. In my humble opinion, before making any generic statement for/against the Muslims of India, please spend some time around Jama Masjid, and I really hope the Javed Akhtar’s and Shabana Azmi’s are listening. Connaught Place was good, but by then I had already judged the crowd, not very flattering I must add. It reinforced the popular notion that Delhi is a bit unsafe for women, and not just the adventurous kind.

The next day was my long awaited trip to Agra, Mathura and Fatehpur Sikri, with a group of friends and the above mentioned 800. Getting past a toll-naka without paying up courtesy a police sticker is a joy and experience only an amit_123 (Definition) would know about. The Taj Mahal was beautiful, but a tad disappointing to my expectations but atleast I have that legendary snap in front of the Taj. The Mathura temple had all the ingredients of a successful temple : Huge crowds, loud chants, even louder chatters and a 1-second darshan. The return back to Delhi and boarding of a bus to Jaipur happened that night; just the routine drill of visiting-all-sightseeing-places-in-a-day.

The next day was big. Having the Free Hugs Campaign with a friend of mine. Details here : Link.

For more about the Free Hugs Campaign, this might be a good view : Link

The next morning I was in Leh, the biggest city in Ladakh, which in case you didn’t know IS in fact in India. I gave acclimatising a day and a half, considering Leh is at over 11,000 ft and did some small hikes around Leh the next evening including the Shanti Stupa, Old Caslte and Leh Palace. This was when I met Aleksander, a Bulgarian mountain guide, on a world trip, and arguably one of the happiest people I have ever met ! Although his main concern was why foreigners had to pay up anything from 2 times to 40 times the entry fees for Indians at all places. To quote Aleksander : ‘All foreigners are not rich !!’.

Continue reading part 2 here.

My son for the past year and a half has called himself a professional hugger.  Whenever he meets someone new or an old friend, the first thing he does is give them a big hug and tells them he is a professional hugger.  He even asked to have business cards made up to hand out to remind people to hug.  When asked what he wants to be when he grows up,  he says “Professional Hugger!”  Seeing what the power his hugs have is amazing. When the manager of a local bagel place we go to once a week is having a bad morning, his hug – a simple thing – can turn her day around because it is given from his heart.  So, it was to my surprise when I saw a gentleman in NY a few weeks ago wearing a shirt that said “Free Hugs” on the front and “Sometimes all you need is just a hug!” on the back!  What?!?  Is this person a “professinal hugger?”   I asked him about it and he told me about the Free Hugs Campaign.

Free hugs actually started out with a the real life controversial story of Juan Mann.   Juan came to a point in his life where everything was turned upside-down and nothing made sense.  When flying home to Sydney, all he had was a bag full of clothes and a world full of troubles.  No one was there to welcome him home, and he didn’t even know if he had a home.  While standing at the terminal he watched other passengers getting greeted by loved ones with hugs and smiles.  Juan wanted that, someone to smile at him and to acknowlege that he was important by giving him a hug.  So, he got a piece of cardboard and wrote on it “Free Hugs.”    He was amazed at the transformation powers of a hug and thus “Free Hugs Campaign” was born.  His mission:  reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.   Pretty much sums up the mission of my son!

Juan has put out a 120-page  interactive e-book called “The Illustrated Guide To Free Hugs” – which is free for download!  It will inspire you with the story of Juan Mann and how he turned hugs into a worldwide movement.   In it, you willl find descriptions, anecdotes and even demonstrations of over 30 diffrent styles of hugs including:

• The “Koala” or Side On Hug
• The Surprise Hug
• At Arms’ Length Hug
• The Group Hug

 In this day and age, I think that we could all use a hug to remind us that we are human, that we are important, and that, perhaps, everything might just turn out okay!  And, if you run into my son, don’t be surprised if he gives you a hug to remind of all those things and more!