PM Narendra Modi hugged US President Donald Trump six times during their meeting yesterday (February 24).
Gone are the days when a formal stiff handshake between the heads of the countries was the protocol. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump have been changing norms and how! Trump landed in Ahmedabad, India on Monday, and their warm hugs have since been the talking of the international media.
Both -- Trump and PM Modi -- have never shied away from praising each other in public. So, when Donald Trump embarked on his first visit to India, PM Narendra Modi welcomed him with a warm welcome hug at the airport.
The two reportedly hugged six times on Monday -- sending a message to the entire world.
PM Modi's hugs have made a lot of headlines in the past too. Be it with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, or with the former US President Barack Obama, or with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his hugs have not only made headline but have also sent a strong message about warmth in Indian friendships.
Pictures of PM Modi’s hug with French Prime Minister Francois Hollande during his India visit in 2016 had also created a lot of buzz on the internet and this was seen as bonding between ‘two good friends’. In the form of these hugs, PM Modi has employed a tool of diplomacy and eased the formal ‘dead’ protocol between nation heads.
While PM Narendra Modi deserves an accolade for a lot of things, he should also be credited for easing out formal meetings and giving them a human touch.
Hugs are the ‘in-thing’ and taking a cue from PM Modi’s book we should too bring ‘more hugs’ in our lives. But why? Well apart from every other reason, hugs, in general, are stress relievers and in true sense ‘jaadu ki jhappi’.
An embrace or a hug reduces the stress hormone cortisol produced in human bodies. In effect, bodies release tension and send calming messages to the brain. Hugs naturally bring two people close, not just physically but on mental level too.
And in today's day and age, when everybody feels lonely in the crowds, a hug can surely make a difference. So next time you meet someone, follow PM Modi, and give them a ‘jaadu ki jhappi’ -- even if there's no reason.
