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Do you know what is Turmeric Latte (American), traditional Indian daybed (Australian), Chew Sticks (European) or Gratitude Rock (American) presently being marketed and sold in foreign markets? It is nothing but Haldi ka doodh, Chaarpai/Khaat, Daatun and Shiv Ling/similarly rounded stones.

We are aware of the patents granted for Turmeric, Basmati rice, Neem and Yog techniques in the United States and the India’s long legal battle against it. Recently, I also found that cow urine or what we know as Gau Mutra has been awarded as many as seven patents for its medicinal properties across the world, more particularly for its bio-enhancer and an antibiotic, antifungal and anti-cancer agent. [More information in Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine]. I am sure your learned self can add more to the list.

But the most mind boggling fact that I have come across lately is Koe Knuffelen. It is prevalent in the West for two decades now, particularly in Holland and is supported by research papers in the International Journals. There are numerous publications found on the US National Library of Medicine website. Koe Knuffelen  is the name of a therapy which literally means ‘cow hugging’. The services are charged on hourly basis in the US and Europe. Queer! This fact finding of mine was a by-product of search on the benefits of cow cuddling, which in turn was prompted by recent notification from the Animal Welfare Board of India to make February the 14^th as a Cow Hug Day (now withdrawn without any explanation). As much as it was ridiculed, trolled, memed and made subject to politically motivated speeches and discussions (CNN being on the top of the searches on Google), the only question I had was – is there really a possible science behind it? To my surprise, there is.

The people of the wiser generations would know better. As scientifically found and proven in the West (and I am ashamed to be quoting this rather than referring to the practice of caressing cows that has been part of Indian society and the references found in the Vedas) it, amongst other therapeutic cures, releases oxytocin and thus lowers the stress. In India, Sri S P Gupta, former Chairman of Animal Welfare Board of India started a cow cuddling Centre. Gau Sparsh Chikitsa has been started in 2021 by Kamdhenu Gowdham and Ayogya Sansthan in Haryana.

Sad part is that the less wise generation of ours (if I may call them the ‘have-nots’- including me)  have been so ignorant and disconnected with the depth and richness of the Indian culture – the actual education (not speaking of Macaulay’s prototype education system of making human robotic servants for serving the British Government) – that what they know is to heedlessly ridicule and color an initiative as political and impractical rather than understanding where is it coming from and attacking it systematically and rationally to come out with something substantial for the benefit of everyone. It seems this culture is imbibed from our Parliament lately.  It is unfortunate to see youngsters (even politicians) saying “Oh how insane to hug a cow, it will hit me..!!!” Well, bingo! You got it right. It will. 12^th of February is a Hug Day. My question is – do you go berserk and just hug anyone on the street??  Or do you kiss random people on February 13^th?

No, this is not something that I am writing to educate anyone (me being the most ignorant) or to support a ‘Cow Hug Day’ vis-a-vis Valentine’s Day. I am happy to celebrate anything that makes me cheerful, provided it is lawful and moral and not hurtful to ‘common prudent man’. This is rather to question the very fad on social media of contesting and approaching something cynically as the first mechanism of attack rather than approaching it rationally with pertinent questions in the first place.

Well, on the flip side, I also believe the approach of the Animal Welfare Board is to be equally blamed. After all, one should not assume the general awareness and metal preparedness of the people to accept the idea, more so, when cow is now a political animal and what all one witnesses, and is familiar with, is cows consuming single use plastics on the streets of National Capital.  I conjecture at the same time that people who are in the National Capital and own cows and can enlighten us on this aspect are either shy of expressing their views or perhaps do not use such social media platforms at all. Needless to say about others – the cow-owners who do not stay in metropolitan cities. So I do not expect to find a balance in the type of people who would be expressing their views on such platforms.

Nevertheless, in my view, for introducing anything close to a Cow Hug Day, there is a need for a close examination of the very reason why the West is studying the need of cow therapies. Why now? It demands an introspection of how the family structures have significantly transformed within a generation (family being the smallest unit of a society). The families in India for that matter have diminished from joint families, with farm animals around, to nuclear families and individuals living alone. One of the products of such disintegrated society over the years is stress, clinically known as depression if it persists. It is therefore now, in the last couple of decades that social scientists are compelled to think of methods of emancipation from the effects of solitude and artificially generated social pressures.

Broadly speaking, unless the ground realities are checked, acknowledged and studied and an acceptable mechanism is charted, there will be rejections of domestic initiatives. So much so that the tragedy being that the very concept, that the Indians of my generation never even realise as an integral part of our cutural fabric, comes back to us as an intensely researched and proved theory/therapy and we on the other hand regressively dismiss the domestic initiatives in limine as conservative or absurdly ludicrous.

Anubha Dhulia Advocate, Delhi, Founder and Managing Partner, Nautiliyaa Legal.