NEW DELHI: Linguist and Cultural Activist Dr Birbal Jha, who always favoured the Indian way of greeting with folded hands, has made it his mission to educate people on the benefits of namaste, courtesy Covid-19.
He organised a youth march called Namaste March, earlier in March, in collaboration with British Lingua, an educational institute in East Delhi.
The march witnessed youth carrying placards with their hands folded in a namaste. The marchers appealed to all passers-by to adopt the Indian way of salutation when greeting others.
The placards read: ‘No Handshakes, Say Only Namaste’; ‘Stick to the Indian Culture of Greeting’; ‘Beware of Western Meetings’, ‘No Embracing, No infection’; ‘No hugs, No kisses’; ‘Up with the Indian Culture’, ‘Down with the Corona Vulture’, and so on.
“Namaste, the cultural lifestyle of Indian ethos that was substituted by Western greetings like handshaking, hugging and kissing, is an effective measure to keep the contagious coronavirus away,” says Jha. “Today, not just Indians, but even in US and Europe people are realising the importance of avoiding unnecessary touches as it can ward off many disease-causing organisms. People are doing the namaste to protect their lives,” adds the linguist, pointing how Donald Trump and Prince Charles were recently spotted opting for this gesture.
“When one of the top trainers of communication skills like Dr Jha, who had been advocating handshaking while training in social graces and spoken English, takes to streets asking people to shake this habit off and adopt the traditional namaste culture, it speaks a lot about its importance,” says Naresh Kumar, a social researcher, adding that namaste is scientifically safe and healing too.
“No handshaking is shaking the virus off. Moreover, the yogic namaste, taken from Anjali Mudra of Pranamasana (meaning I bow to the divine in you) prevents the transfer of germs,” says Dr Jha, adding that the Namaste March has a lot to offer to the world. With the lockdowns now being imposed across the country, it’s doubtful anyone will be marching around for a while.