Coronavirus: The Power Of The Indian Namaste Over Handshake

Coronavirus: The Power Of The Indian Namaste Over Handshake
Akanksha Bhatt for Homegrown

It wouldn’t be outrageous to imagine a modern-day Dickens describing the times that have befallen us as the “worst of times” as COVID-19 keeps claiming lives one after the other. As in all situations extraordinaire, it is extremely interesting to note the socio-cultural impact of the pandemic. Besides, of course, the more serious health remedies and measures being taken by international organisations and government bodies, COVID-19 has also brought forth a range of popular measures that are being guaranteed to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. In fact, in little ways of its own, the Coronavirus scare has transformed a lot of quotidian activities as people are becoming increasingly wary of their surroundings. A lot more people are moving out with hand sanitisers. People are avoiding larger gatherings and avoiding long-distance travels. ‘Corona’ is truly one of the most-used terms these days and it’s not rare to wake up to a slew of Whatsapp messages from friends, parents, and elders warning one against the disease. Pleasantries have also taken a hit. All over the world, pleasantry exchanges range from hugs and kisses to handshakes, high-fives, and fist-bumps. Touch is usually the easiest way to connect and communicate. In times of the coronavirus, however, touch has transformed into one of the easiest and perhaps, the deadliest ways of getting sick.

Which is where the good old Indian ‘Namaste’ or ‘Namaskaram’ comes into place. The Indian Namaste, literally meaning, ‘I bow to thee’ is one of the most respectful and impacting ways of greeting someone without having to touch anyone.

Late February onwards, influential Indian personalities began suggesting the adoption of ‘namaste’ as one of the most sensible means of greeting. More recently, the Karnataka government launched a campaign called ‘Namaste Over Handshake’ advising people to use ‘namaste’ to greet others. Karnataka’s Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar too had insisted that people should adopt ‘Namasthe’ or ‘Namaskara’ to greet people. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also stressed upon the importance of using ‘namaste’ to greet people so as to not contract the virus.

The Namaste message is here to nama-stay as globally, people, including several International leaders have been publicly pledging to adopting this greeting. The latest on the list is French President Emmanuel Macron who greeted Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia with ‘namaste’ instead of the conventional form of pleasantry-exchange. In early March, the news showed the German Interior Minister choosing not to shake Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hand due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. In the light of the unfortunate incident of United Kingdom’s Health Minister Nadine Dorries testing positive for the coronavirus after having interacted with several people at a public event preceding the onset of the illness, it is being taken up with all the more caution. While the royals would obviously be considered to be the safeguards of courtesy, in times of the Coronavirus, even they have had to refrain from the greetings’ rulebook. On March 09, the British royal family was also seen keeping their hands to themselves as heir apparent Prince Charles resorted to a namaste-style greeting whilst the Queen and the others including the outgoing senior royal couple, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stuck to non-tactile modes of exchanging pleasantries. At a press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that small steps such as adopting the “Indian Namaste” could help in controlling the spread of the virus.

While the ancient Indian Namaste has certainly become one of the most powerful ways of greeting whilst preventing the spread of the deadly virus, other more culture-specific and sometimes, even quirky means like the Vulcan greeting, the elbow bump, and the foot-shakes are being used as the more preferred means of greeting.

While a modern-day Dickens might shy away from attaching something like “it was the best of times” before “it was the worst of times”, with more awareness, careful handling of the situation, and definitely a more widespread use of ‘Namaste’, the Dickens of 2020 might be prompted to at least reduce one of the superlatives to a mere comparative.

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