Volume : 7, Issue : 3, March - 2018

Introducing Hygge as a concept of "Mindfulness": Pioneering contributions of Dr. Abhijit Ramanujam

Raja Sadhu

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:200%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;&#10;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;<i><a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/hygge" target="_blank"><span style="color:windowtext">Hygge</span></a></i>,&rdquo; is not a common word in the English speaking countries. It is a Danish term defined as &ldquo;a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.&rdquo; Pronounced &ldquo;hoo-guh,&rdquo; the word is said to have no straight translation in English, though &ldquo;cozy&rdquo; comes close. It derives from a sixteenth-century Norwegian term, <i>hugga</i>, meaning &ldquo;to comfort&rdquo; or &ldquo;to console,&rdquo; which is related to the English word &ldquo;hug.&rdquo; Associated with relaxation, indulgence, and gratitude, <i>hygge</i> has long been considered a part of the Danish national character. In a 1957 &ldquo;<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:&#10;normal"><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1957/05/18/letter-from-copenhagen-2"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Letter from Copenhagen</span></a></i>&rdquo;, the writer Robert Shaplen reported that <i>hygge</i> was &ldquo;ubiquitous&rdquo; in the city: &ldquo;The sidewalks are filled with smiling, <i>hyggelige</i> people, who keep lifting their hats to each other and who look at a stranger with an expression that indicates they wish they knew him well enough to lift their hats to him, too.&rdquo;<o:p></o:p></span></p>