Ancient Indian custom of greeting someone with folded hands is gaining popularity now as coronavirus penetrates geographical locations and brings down handshakes, hugging and kisses. Hindus traditionally continue to practice this in India and now the world is slowly warming up to this novelty. Some global leaders and celebrities are already adopting this and popularizing it among their fans.
U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Britain's Prince Charles, all have adopted “Namaste” for greeting others in the wake of the contagious coronavirus making handshakes difficult. Namaste, a combination of two Sanskrit words, translates into “bowing to you” and does not involve skin contact and allows people to maintain a distance.
French President welcomed Spanish King and Queen with this gesture recently while Trump said that he just got back from India and didn’t shake hands with anyone. When asked by reporters, Trump demonstrated “Namaste”, Indian way of greeting and “Ojigi” Japanese way of bowing which doesn’t involve hand contacts.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been reminding Indian citizens about the benefits of the traditional Indian way of greeting. Saying that the world is embracing this form of greeting, Indians who have forgotten it should now pick it up. Most people are now heeding the advice as coronavirus spreads.
