Handsome men to help you weep?

My blog is titled ‘Stories from India’ but here is a strange story from Japan that I can’t help sharing.

Japanese companies are hiring ‘handsome weeping boys’ to help their staff cry. Yes, you read that right. Click here if you still don’t believe me.

In the words of the founder of one such company: “I want Japanese people to cry. Not only at home but in the office… It creates a better working environment and people get along better.”

Employees sit together and watch sad films while a “handsome weeping boy” wipes away their tears. All of this helps people express their emotions and bond in the process. Presumably this leads to great team work and increased productivity?

What do you make of that? Do you find it a curious practice are you in fact excited by the position of ‘”handsome weeping boy/girl” and can’t wait to apply?

I sometimes like to watch sad movies myself … and yes, cry too. It has a cathartic effect (or is it plain silly behavior?). But I would be distinctly uncomfortable with a complete stranger wiping away my tears, no matter how handsome!

This reminds me of a movie that actually got me shedding copious tears in a crowded theater.

It was a Bollywood film called Taare Zameen Par (Stars on Earth), and anybody who’s watched it knows what I’m talking about!

A moving story about a dyslexic child who is misunderstood by all, the film ensured that there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. At least the women around me were all wiping away tears or sniffling into their tissues, so I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling devastated. Perhaps the men were doing the same but were more discrete about it.

Especially when this song came on, right after the little boy’s parents sent him off to a boarding school, I found myself practically dissolving in a flood of tears. The lyrics went something like :

I’ve never said it
But I’m afraid of the darkness, ma

I’ve never said it
But you know I love you ma

Now if you are a mother, or have ever loved your mother, it is practically impossible to stay unmoved. Chances are that even those who hate kids or dislike their moms will became sentimental!

What is the one movie that made you bawl your heart out? Please leave me a name in the comments and perhaps I will watch it on a lonely evening, when I feel like a good cry 😉