How about switching off your smartphone and locking eyes with a stranger at a Colaba park?
Guests at the debut edition of Eye Gazing in Mumbai
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This Saturday, if you're at BPT Garden in Colaba for an evening stroll, you'll find several Mumbaikars sitting in pairs, staring into each other's eyes. No, this isn't hypnotism at work. They'll be part of a unique event, Eye Gazing Mumbai, organised by the volunteers of Australia-based initiative, The Human Connection Movement, which aims to change the way people interact with each other in the digital world by organising eye-gazing events across the world.
"When you gaze into someone's eyes, you see beyond their physical qualities. Your senses allow you to perceive the truth of the moment," explains 30-year-old volunteer Khushi Devikalar, who hosted Mumbai's first eye gazing event in January this year. "I was nervous about how Mumbaikars would react but surprisingly, 40 guests turned up, including a 16-year-old teen and a 60-year-old senior citizen," she adds. While she has returned to Sydney, another volunteer from the organisation will be present
at the event.
You can either bring a partner along or go solo to find a guest at the venue itself. Once seated in the garden, take a deep breath, let go of expectations and focus on being present in the moment. After a few minutes, repeat the exercise with another person. Guests are discouraged to chat until the completion of each gaze as it's believed that 93 per cent of communication occurs through non-verbal cues.
Devikalar adds, "Eye contact initiates an invisible energy, dissolving barriers. It helps increase self-awareness, empathy and self-esteem. It also reduces stress, social anxiety and gives you an opportunity to meet new people."
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