INDIA SAYS NAMASTE AS SHAKING HANDS IS TOO RISKY By Muskan Jain

The novel Coronavirus has spread throughout the globe like the oxygen in the air. While people are taking every kind of precautions to keep themselves safe like wearing masks, carrying hand sanitizers, avoiding public areas and physical contacts, Namaste, an Indian style of greeting has become popular throughout the world.

One of the modes of coronavirus spread is due to physical contact like shaking hands or even hugging. Greetings are considered to be an act to show respect and attention, but the pandemic has made the traditional greeting style quite risky. Therefore, the world leaders have replaced their traditional handshake with a namaste. Namaste involves joining our own palms together and it is one of the best ways to greet someone without touching them and thus, the safest greeting in times of pandemic.

Small gestures and small changes can solve huge problems, isn’t that amazing?

What is Namaste?

Namaste means bowing to someone. It is derived from Sanskrit phrase ‘Namah’ means ‘bow in adoration’ and ‘te’, meaning ‘to you’; meaning that I bow to you in adoration or respect.

This gesture of greeting is widely used throughout the Indian subcontinent and is also used by the migrants from India. Since the virus spreading and namaste is a non-contact form of greeting, Namaste has become the trend of 2020.

With the virus, Namaste too has now become global. The world leaders like the president of USA Donald Trump, French president Emmanuel Macron, Prince Charles, Isreal prime minister Benjamin Nethanyahu have all adopted this new way of greeting stating it to be safe and contact-free. President Trump hailed the Indian way of greeting by saying “the Indians are ahead of the curve.”

Countries around the globe are looking towards India with friendly eyes since India has extended its help, by providing assistance in every way possible like drugs (Hydroxychloroquine) and necessary equipment such as testing kits and other medical assistance, to over 150 countries in a fight against the deadly coronavirus.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a High-level segment of UN-ECOSOC where he said that India has always responded with speed and solidarity at the times of crisis. He said; “COVID-19 pandemic has severely tested the resilience of all the nations.”

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saluted India for helping in the global fight against coronavirus. President Trump also stated that India’s help during this time of crisis would never be forgotten.

The changing Trends

The virus has led to so many lifestyle changes throughout the world. People around the world have started adopting the Indian lifestyle. They have started to refrain from non-vegetarian food and are turning towards vegetarianism and even vegan forms. People are now looking forwards towards the Indian traditional lifestyle where humans used to spend hours with nature, living in spacious homes, cooking fresh food etc. Indian spices are magical substances which not only enhance the food but also benefits the body and thus, many people have adopted the Indian way of cooking.

The Jain community in India is the one where the saints places a mask on their mouth on a regular basis and the reason for it is that it does not allow the transmission of the virus while we speak. And now as we can all see; masks have become an essential for protecting ourselves.

The pandemic has advised everyone to wash their hands properly and use only the sanitized products. In India, the people are used to wash the fruits and vegetables before consuming them, also the habit of washing hands, not just after but also before eating food, is inculcated since childhood. Also, instead of using products brought from outside directly from the packets, Indians put them in separate and clean containers before using them.

Indian lifestyle from using spices to greeting with Namaste is what the world is appreciating. And in times like these, it would be the small steps that would bring a positive change and help us fight against the coronavirus.

Namaste.