Sit up and take notice: Rich Indian culture can help check coronavirus spread

While the current topic of discussion across the world is coronavirus, India had ages ago shown the way to beat it. I am not referring to any new or revolutionary discovery but simply the age-old custom of Namaste. I say age-old because I was trying to trace the origin of when people started saying Namaste. But, even Google does not say how old it is or when the custom started.

For those from the West or the millennials who are wondering what Namaste is all about, Namaste is more than a word used to end a yoga session. It is a customary Hindu greeting. It signifies the bringing together of mind and matter or of oneself meeting thyself. The gesture in its pure, simple and beautiful sense means "I bow to the divine in you". Namaste is an action done with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. The namaste is used while greeting and while taking leave. The gesture is performed with the utterance of Namaste or it can also be performed as a silent action without exchange of words. The action by itself speaks volumes about respect, acknowledgment, courtesy, hospitality, warmth, friendship and welcome to the person across. It is the equivalent of today’s handshake with ‘Hello or How are you’ … minus corona.

Research has shown that twice as much bacteria is transferred with a handshake as against a high five, and the numbers can considerably reduce in a fist-bump greeting. However, it is only the Namaste that guarantees zero bacteria transfer. And the icing on the cake is the Namaste as a silent gesture where we can even eliminate the face mask. The numbers shown on recent WhatsApp forwards look frightening that just the utterance of ‘co…ro’ would have the remotely suspected case catapulted into orbit.