Hyderabad: The novel coronavirus has not only taught the whole world how to wash their hands but also forced some powerful world leaders to change the way they greet.
As the contagious disease spreads, leaders including Israel PM Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump are greeting the Indian way, with a namaste.
Netanyahu had earlier asked Israelis to adopt Indian way of greeting by joining both hands as it reduces social distance required to contract the deadly virus.
Donald Trump probably would have got inspired by the audacious Namaste Trump event with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, as he and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar greeted each other with a ''namaste'' and bowed to each other at the Oval Office.
Watch Prince Charles adapt to royal life devoid of handshakes
“We looked at each other and said, ‘What are we going to do?'” said Trump, acknowledging to reporters that he felt a bit odd welcoming the Irish leader without a handshake. “You know, it's sort of a weird feeling.”
He joked during Thursday’s Oval Office meeting that India and Japan, both nations he has visited as president, are “ahead of the curve” because their cultures generally don’t involve handshakes. Trump even did a quick demonstration from his seat of the Japanese ojigi.
French President Emmanuel Macron too greeted Spain's king and queen in the same manner. French first lady Brigitte Macron played her part too, blowing a kiss in the direction of Queen.
"President Macron also has decided to greet all his counterparts with a namaste, a graceful gesture that he has retained from his India visit in 2018," a tweet from the official Twitter account of the Ambassador of France to India Emmanuel Lenain had said on March 11.
A video of Prince Charles greeting with namaste went viral on the Internet. He was seen greeting people with a Namaste at the annual Prince's Trust Awards on March 11 at the London Palladium.
As the world grapples with the deadly coronavirus outbreak, people are searching for ways and means to safeguard themselves and Namaste is being increasingly accepted as a simple way of lifestyle. More than 126,000 people in more than 110 countries have been infected with WHO declaring COVID-19 as a pandemic.
Namaste is originally a Sanskrit phrase formed from 'Namah', meaning 'bow, obeisance, adoration,' and the enclitic pronoun "te", meaning 'to you". It differs from the Namaskar in the sense that Namaskar means bow to the energy in you and Namaste is bowing to you.
Whatever the meaning, but the Indian way of greeting is now becoming the world's favourite.
