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Will India's Namaste Greeting Go Global Amid Coronavirus Outbreak?

Anjana Pasricha

   NEW DELHI - India prides itself on popularizing yoga and meditation in
   many parts of the world. Now it is watching to see if the country's
   traditional greeting, the namaste, described as "virus-proof," goes
   global as some world leaders adopt it amid the coronavirus pandemic.
   As health authorities advise people to avoid shaking hands to curb the
   spread of the highly contagious coronavirus, U.S. President Donald
   Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Britain's Prince Charles
   this week used something resembling the Indian greeting, which involves
   welcoming a guest with palms pressed together.

   "Namaste," a combination of two Sanskrit words, translates into "bowing
   to you" and does not involve skin contact and allows people to maintain
   a distance.
   Macron folded his palms in the traditional Indian manner and bowed
   slightly while greeting Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia at the
   Elysee Palace in Paris earlier this week.

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