New Delhi, 8th March 2020: A cultural procession for health named ‘Namaste March’
, the first-ever of its kind, was taken out in the vicinity of Laxmi Nagar in
the national capital on Saturday. The move was to make people aware about the
ways to ward off the Communicable Covid-19, that is wreaking havoc all over the world, an Asian
country being its epicenter .
The awareness-awakening march was set off under the social
leadership of noted author and activist Dr Birbal Jha. Mr Jha, while leading the
march to the front, appealed both
national and international audiences to revert to (or adopt in case of foreign
nationals) the Indian culture of greeting, popularly known as Namaste, instead of other popular forms of greetings
that necessitate hand-contact or hugging or any kind of physical contacts.
“Don’t scare the people, rather show care for them so that we
can educate people about the spread of this virus, making ourselves safe and
face this global menace together.”
Delving deep into Indian Tradition of Greeting, the Paagman
of India further added, “ the yogic Namaste, taken from Anjali Mudra of Pranamasana,
meaning I bow to the divine in you is preventive. It is also curative in the
sense that it helps progression of the virus. Lesser the number of people affected
by this virus, greater becomes the rate of survival.
Arvind Kejrival, on a press conference today itself, talked
about the number of people the affected persons(6) hobnobbed with. It varied from 5 to more than 100. Had
there been Namaste practice in place, the job of the government could have
become easier and more focused could have been the treatment of the affected
people.
In this way, it will not be a hyperbole to say that Namaste is both Preventive and Curative, added Dr. Birbal Jha, Director of British Lingua.
“The exclamatory Namaskar, a very important part of the
Indian culture, has been in practice since the Rig Veda Era. Importantly, Rig
Veda is revered for paving the way for cheerfulness and the wellbeing of the mankind.
Hence, this ‘Namaste March’ has a lot to offer to the world given physical
contacts being medically disallowed and therefore being frowned at”, added
social entrepreneur Dr Jha leading youth in hundreds.
Youth clinging placards to their chests and putting their
palms together onto their hearts made beeline on the roadside of Vikas Marg in
East Delhi to send out a message of how to fight with coronavirus originated
from China. A placard in their hands reads ‘no handshaking, please, say only
Namaste, please whereas another says, ‘stick to the Indian culture of
greetings, beware of western meetings! Others include ‘no embracing, no
infection, no hugging, and no contagion. Such was a dozen of slogans giving the
message to passersby on the busy road of Delhi on the day.
“I am happy to be part
of this mass movement for the protection of mankind under the aegis of British
Lingua which has spearheaded this campaign, promoting Indian culture and ethos
on the one hand and the safety of human lives on the other”, said the
Stephanian, Vinod Sukheja.
Underlining the significance of Indian culture, social worker
Ramakant Chaudhary said, “Indian culture always talks about being hygiene and
keeping the surrounding clean to welcome God. Where there is proper sanitation,
there is the least chance of bacteria-virus infestation. We should maintain a
habit of cleanliness and battle with Coronavirus.”
Hundreds of students and local residents including
intelligentsia took part in the crusade wherein traffic police also chipped in
to add value to the Namaste March, appreciating the awareness campaign.
Ashish Jha
