New Delhi: The Animal Welfare Board of India has recommended observing February 14 as ‘Cow Hug Day’. The announcement has been met with incredulity and a profusion of memes on social media, but experts, including psychologists, do say that the therapeutic benefit and mental well-being generated by snuggling up to a cow are being recognized worldwide.
Amid the mockery and the attribution of the recommendation to politics, there is a feeling that even though an unconventional shortcut to a dash of happiness, the act cannot really do much harm. In the West, snuggling up to animals is gaining popularity as a wellness trend for its perceived ability to create a sense of positivity.
There is even a term for it now in Dutch — koe knuffelen, or embracing cow — and it is being promoted in countries like the Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, Australia and the United States.
A psychiatrist at AIIMS said, “Hugging or embracing is used as a mode of solace and relaxation for both humans and animals. In what is called animal therapy, people, especially those who are lonely due to lack of socialisation, find embracing animals to reduce depression. Though it could be any animal, people prefer hugging the generally relaxed and calm cows. In India, cows have a cultural significance and it is considered a holy animal.”
Veterinarian Abhishek Dabar claimed that such therapies helped people with high blood pressures. “However, it’s not only cows that one can hug. It could be any animal that offers tenderness, say a dog or a horse. Hugging diverts the mind and helps it calm down. There is, however, no medicinal property transferred from skin to skin,” said Dr Dabar. “What makes cows different is that they are calm, become acquainted easily and allow physical contact. Horses are even calmer than cows, but they cannot be befriended easily. The same goes for dogs.”
Cow hugging is not a new-age activity, says Dhyan Foundation, a spiritual and charitable organisation working for cattle welfare. It has been promoting koe knuffelen for years and dates its origin to the Vedic era. “A cow is a highly evolved and sentient being and has been called Dhenu, a house of bounties, in the Vedas,” claimed the foundation’s Ashwini Guruji.
“It is said of Kabir that he got his poetic abilities when a cow licked his forehead. The cow is entangled with a higher consciousness at the quantum level and has a karmic effect on humans.” He added that almost all world religions and cultures spoke of benefits associated with the cow.
Meanwhile, some people who frequent the Dhyan Foundation’s ashram in south Delhi’s Chhatarpur claim to have benefited from being with the cows. Sharing his experience with TOI, American gastroenterologist Dr Ramesh Gupta claimed, “I was reluctant to snuggle up to a cow initially. But after I began doing it, several of my medical conditions disappeared. I don’t have any explanation how this happened.”
Dr Prasan Prabhakar, cardiologist at Laxmi Hospital in Kerala, similarly claimed, “I carried out several experiments with emotionally disturbed and hypertensive patients. They all benefited from cow hugging, proving that this is 100 per cent science.”
The physical sense of well-being caused by hugging cows is “mostly psychological”, explained Dr Amarpal, veterinarian at Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly. However, it is not simply a question of walking up to a bovine and taking it into a warm embrace. Experts say people should know about the dos and don’ts before reaching out to a cow.
Amarpal cautioned, “While there is no major danger related to cows, it is best to avoid animals in isolation or those that look dull, weak and reluctant to get up. Also avoid hugging if you see rashes or signs of skin infection. A healthy cow will be chewing cud and will react upon being approached.”