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You have only to see the Namaste bring done by the Thais to know how much we have forgotten about this simple but eloquent gesture.

It’s something that is identified with us, this uncomplicated act of folding the palms and saying Namaste. It is a gesture of welcome, of farewell, of humility, of worship, of asking for forgiveness, of beseeching, of giving up, and we use it all the time. What we don’t use it for, is to bow to the spirit that we see in the person we greet with a Namaste.

They say that the Namaste was also a way of showing that there was no weapon in the greeter’s hands, that there was no malicious intent in the greeting; but that must have evolved over the years, through the times of intrigue and invasion.

Across the world, I believe that the folding of hands implies supplication and humility. Only, we in India realised that the Godly spirit also met us through the eyes and persona of the people we met, older, younger or contemporaries. We still retain some of that culture; but have lost its inherent meaning.

One look at the plastic smiles and the stiffly folded hands of our air hostesses saying Namaste as they greet us or bid us goodbye is enough to vindicate my statement. Their eyes look beyond us, into some very fascinating distance, where they can see already the freedom to shop, or wine and dine, instead of being at another’s beck and call. And more often than not, the Namaste is a mockery of what it is supposed to be, an empty gesture, a token.

The Thais, must have along with the religions they borrowed from us, also borrowed this gesture, but they have preserved it in its complete form. For one, they look you in the eye, smile and then fold their hands before intoning a greeting. Even though what they said was not clear to me, I knew they meant they were greeting me, and making me feel special.

I saw them doing this not just in hotels and other places where it was a duty to welcome guests, but in public places. It is a real and intrinsic part of their culture. Not that there is no anger or hatred, I am not saying that the entire nation is full of loving, respectful people, but by and large they observe, with this simple act, the respect one human being needs to show another, at all times.

I was sitting waiting for nothing, at the lobby of my hotel, watching the comings and goings. The bell boys were bustling around with luggage trolleys. When one of them received a tip, he would fold his hands and do a deep Namaste, making the giver feel magnificent and regal in the act of giving. And so unlike many of our guys who make you feel whatever the nature of your tip, that you have short changed them.

In fact, I wonder when I did the Namaste last. Perhaps when elders come visiting, I remember that this is the best way to greet them, but more often than not, the hi, hello or the handshake seems to be what I have slipped into as the preferred form of greeting.

I have begun to rethink my own behaviour now. Just last week I had a visitor in the office, a French lady who is extremely involved in high end fashion, and has worked intimately with every brand in Paris one cares to name. She greeted me with a Namaste, and folded hands, and my breezy hi and extended hand seemed weak and almost silly, though she was graceful enough to shake it anyway.

Did the Thai womenwonder if I was indeed Indian, as I returned their Namastes with so much less grace, and then found myself still putting out my hand for a handshake. I noted the surprise in their faces, as they completed the greeting, and told myself to rid myself of the habit of shaking hands at least as long as my visit.
Why is it, I wondered, do we imbibe the gestures of the West so easily when what we have has so much meaning and depth, and can be a measure of our uniqueness and individuality.

But saying this, I am not sure I will not feel out of place saying Namaste at an official meeting. I think the trick is to know when to adapt. To be able to slip in and out of how you greet, talk, converse, according to the need of the moment… because all the varied forms of address are a part of who we are.

But to do it all with meaning, and sincerity and grace, which could, when needed imply everything a well-executed Namaste does.
Email:ssaran@dnaindia.net