Covid-19, the infection sweeping the world, has made us all hope that we can flee this fever. Some would say the coro-na virus has always been dominant in the state of Bengal, gripped for decades by the plague of koro-na or don’t do/ can’t do/ will not do. Bengalis accustomed to shouting ‘cholbe na’ (won’t work) during public protests will be worried if corona now stops street gatherings altogether. On an entirely different note, quipped the internet wag: Did Yes Bank get infected by the co-Rana virus?
Shaken by the spread of the highly contagious disease, the handshake is no longer possible. Long before the handshake there was the namaskar and the aadaab which are making a big comeback. What should you do if you fear the spread of the novel coronavirus? Say namaskar, say aadaab.
If all goes well Air India will soon be sold to the highest bidder, but who will ever forget the Air India maharajah and his hospitable namaskar? And how about the ubiquitous namaskar of the Incredible India tourism campaign. And doesn’t Rekha’s legendary ‘aadaab’ in the film Umrao Jaan still remain an example of a truly classy salutation?
A recent video showed how a German minister refused to shake hands with Chancellor Angela Merkel. They would have been better off if they had opted for the namaskar. From Namaste India we should now say Namaste world.
In China, epicentre of Covid-19, and Iran where many have died, when people want to greet each other they’re opting for the leg shake and feet tapping instead of hand shake or embrace. The kiss, long taboo in Hindi movies, is now becoming taboo across the world; in times of Covid-19 the kiss could become the kiss of death.
In Australia people have been advised to pat each other on the back by way of greeting and in France where kissing on both cheeks is the accepted norm, lifestyle experts are counselling that simply looking into each other’s eyes is enough. That’s why once again it’s proven that sometimes India has the answer: forget the handshake, kiss, hug or embrace, in times of a viral outbreak it’s time to make the namaskar viral.
We subcontinentals have many important ways of fighting all kinds of diseases. When namaskar and aadaab are exchanged in togetherness, we can defeat many viruses, be they Covid-19 fever or religious fever.
