In an online world frequently fueled by shares and likes, a man’s tender post on LinkedIn about Hug cut through the din to touch hearts worldwide. Prathap Suthan, an advertising professional in Delhi, recently shared a profoundly moving recollection that soon went viral — a last embrace with his wife that has come to symbolize lasting love, sorrow, and the quiet power of a touch.
A Hug Etched in Memory
Mr. Suthan’s tale starts on what was ostensibly an average morning. He hugged his wife goodbye as she headed to the hospital, not knowing that this would be the last time he would see her. “Hug well,” he exhorted in his post, one of those simple yet profound life lessons to cherish what seems routine. “To me, it was a hug filled with hope. But for her, I now realise, it was different – the silent, knowing embrace of someone saying goodbye forever,” he wrote. The message rings as a testament to the power of touch in a world that too often forgets its importance.
More Than Just a Gesture
Suthan’s post eloquently captures the underlying significance of a hug. “It is a hug I will carry for the rest of my life. No other embrace will ever come close,” he wrote, pondering how a hug can do more than comfort — it can stop time, hold significance, and bear emotion that words cannot convey.
He showed this with poignant imagery: an aging parent grasping at their child, lovers reunited after months apart, and strangers providing silent support. “A hug can greet. It can part. It can hold love or carry survival. But it is never just a hug,” he wrote, exhorting, “If you get the chance to hold someone today, do it like you truly understand its meaning.”
An Outpouring of Emotion
Thousands of people reacted to the post, many sharing their own stories of love, grief, and gratitude. “A very heartfelt post, so so nicely expressed, emotions flowing directly from your heart and have touched the hearts of many readers here. ‘Jaadu ki Jhappi’ from a dear one is so damn valuable!” one commenter wrote. Another shared, “A reminder that sometimes, a single hug can hold a lifetime of emotions.”
A Gentle Call to Embrace Life
In an age that is so often characterized by distance—physical and otherwise—Prathap Suthan’s words bring to mind something eternal and universal: the restorative power of human touch. His entry is not only a tribute to his late wife, but an appeal to all of us to hug our loved ones a little tighter, a little longer, and with a heightened sense of awareness of the ephemeral nature of time.
