New Delhi (NVI): With coronavirus spreading through human contact, India’s traditional way of greeting each other with folded hands has gained relevance in the developed countries, particularly among their leaders.
Be it US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or even Prince Charles, everyone is adopting ‘Namaste’ to greet others, instead of a handshake, to avoid human contact and possible contraction of coronavirus.
Netanyahu, who is greatly appreciative of India and it’s culture, was the first world leader to publicly appeal for adoption of ‘Namaste’ as a way of greeting.
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu @netanyahu encourages Israelis to adopt the Indian way of greeting #Namaste at a press conference to mitigate the spread of #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/gtSKzBDjl4
— India in Israel (@indemtel) March 4, 2020
Subsequently, Macron decided to meet other leaders and officials with folded hands and by saying ‘Namaste’, instead of shaking hands.
The French President’s resolve was seen when he greeted Spain’s King and Queen on March 11. He replaced the traditional handshake with an Indian-style namaste, pressing his palms together and bowing slightly.
French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain tweeted those visuals and said Macron has decided to meet his counterparts with Namaste.
The French President has retained the “graceful gesture” since his India visit in 2018, the Ambassador wrote.
Trump, after his meeting with the Irish Prime Minister at White House recently, also told journalists that he resorted to Namaste to greet the visiting leader as it was a good way to avoid human contact.
He didn’t forget to mention that he had been to India in the recent past and it was here that such a way is used to greet.
Prince Charles was also seen in visuals doing Namaste to greet another leader after almost shaking hands.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked people to avoid handshakes and greet with ‘namaste’.
As the deadly virus keeps spreading, with the WHO declaring it a pandemic, people are worried about social contact including gestures of meeting like a handshake, hugging and kissing on the cheek, as it might spread the virus.
Not only in India, but public health authorities in Europe have also said that people should avoid shaking hands to curb the spread of coronavirus. The COVID-19 infection could be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact.
