A Bug in a Hug

A couple  of days ago, Anisha Sharma, a public relations professional at the NCPA and  @Ghaatidancer to her over 3,000 Twitter followers, was in a really good mood. So she decided, quite literally, to give Mumbai a hug.

Thus began "Ghaatikijhappi" or more officially, Free Hugs campaign, where she along with volunteers will congregate on Carter Road, Bandra at 5:30 pm on December 10 to dole out free hugs to anyone who might want them. They're even planning on having banners and, of course, someone to take a video of the whole event. "Response has been tremendous," Anisha tells us. "In the first day alone, we had over thirty volunteers."

We Don't Knead No Education

Indeed, Anisha managed to compete with all the Kapil Sibal chatter on Twitter yesterday to flood timelines and garner an impressive amount of support online - "Carter Road was trending, " she points out. She also emphasises that her campaign has no agenda or sponsors: "I just love giving hugs, that's all."

Chip of the New Block

"Flash mobs and free hugs - Bombay's turning into San Fransisco," a recently returned friend from the Bay Area observes. Indeed, there seems to be the emergence of a new kind of community engagement in the city, largely mobilised on the internet and inspired by international projects. It's too early to tell how sustainable it is, but we hope it sticks around. Free  hugs  on Saturday - one of us Scouters is staunchly hug-averse, and it even made her smile.

Getting there: Carter Road, Bandra at 5:30 pm on Saturday, December 10, hugs for free.