It’s first Friday of October when the happy community across globe observe World Smile Day and greet everyone with that million dollar smile on their faces. While every individual would agree that smile works beyond caste or religion and sends out its effect across the borders without any language bar or communication hassle. Smile develops the first cordial connect among the people of vivid orientation and different bent of minds.
This World Smile Day Nagpur Today spoke to few experts in their respective fields and know how the art of smile functions for well being of society and the personal wellness as well…
Gold Rate
Saturday 22 Feb. 2025
Every doctor should smile
City’s renowned Nephrologist Dr Shivnarayan Acharya has all appreciation for smile as he starts his comments with these lines, “I smile, you smile… In you, the world smile…And soon the world is full of smile.”
Dr Acharya says, “Smile releases the tension, keeps the heart warm, removes tears and spread happiness. So go on smiling. When a patient enters doctor’s chamber and doctor greets him with a smile and then the barrier between patient and doctor vanishes and the patient is able to communicate better. While a stern looking doctor makes the patient fearful and the patients is not able to express himself fully. The same stands true for nurses, ward boys and attendants. They should all start the day with smile and patient will forget half of his sorrow. Even in our routine life, we should have natural smile on our face. As a doctor we should go on smiling.”
Smile keeps heart rate fine
Senior Cardiologist Dr Aziz Khan who runs Crescent Hospital in Dhantoli advocates the power of smile for good heart rate. He said, “Smile is related to positive emotions. That gives relaxation, decreases heart rate and maintains uniform blood pressure. So keep smiling. I feel laughter clubs are the best medium to express that smile. Any heart patient should try finding reasons to smile because with every smile gives relaxation that decreases the heart rate.” Dr Khan added, “Even smiling is better way to find solution to any problem rather than making oneself tensed.”
Smile to activate your ‘reward function’
Consultant Psychologist Professor Raja Akash too admits the power of smile saying, “When you smile, your tension releases automatically. In so many laughter clubs across the city, the members though exude fake laughter; it does help in reducing their stress levels.” He said all through the day, a person counters so many big and small things that eventually piles up tension in his mind. So here we need smile and laughter for cleansing our mind of negative thoughts. We call this process catharsis in our term. So joking and meeting friends and spreading smiles just contribute towards catharsis.”
He also informed that there are two functions in human body – reward function and punishment function. “When we think of good things in our life reward function gets activated and the moment stress fills up our mind the punishment function becomes active which develops negativity. So we need to smile to keep our reward function activated.”
If you want to be loved, keep smiling
Central India Laughter Club President Kishore Thutheja believes in the ideology of smile in letter and spirit. Thutheja said, “If you give smile you would be greeted back with smile. This is what our members from all the 26 laughter clubs across Vidarbha and connecting state of Chhattisgarh believes in. All remain happy, no matter what the situation is…Because if you are in panic you would not only reduce your lifespan but also you won’t be able to complete the task. Whenever you are in trouble just say whatever has happened, has happened for the best.”
Thutheja joins his laughter club every day at Japanese Garden in Nagpur. He also revealed a short story to make his point. He narrated, “Once there was a king and his minister who often told him that whatever happens is just for the sake of good. Another king has presented a sword to this king who one fine day was about to set out for hunting. He ordered his minister to bring that sword for taking it to hunting. While the king was checking the edge of sword his finger suddenly got cut and started bleeding. The minister in his usual style commented, “Whatever has happened is for good your highness.” Now these comments did not go down well with the king. Fumed over the remarks, the king ordered his soldiers to catch the minister and put him in prison. He then rode out alone for hunting. While in dense forests, the king lost his way and eventually fell into the trap of tribals. The tribals tied the king and decided to sacrifice him before their god. One of the members from the community then asks to check if the king’s body is without any cut or injury anywhere, as offering the ‘khandit’ (marked with wounds) body would not be holy for sacrifice. So when they found the cut in the king’s finger they released him. After returning to his kingdom he ordered to get the minister before him. He asked minister, “I agree what you said when my finger got cut but what better was hidden behind you being sent to prison.” The minister smilingly replied, “Your highness, had you not sent me to prison, I would have accompanied you to the forests and they would have sacrificed me instead of you after discovering that my body is not ‘khandit’ at the moment.”
Thutheja further added, “So it’s all the positive thinking that pays. And that comes from flaunting that smile on your face. Smile is contagious. If you smile at others, others will reciprocate with smile. So if you want to be loved, keep smiling.”
