Goodbye Handshake – Sumeet Sud

Now with a virus making even the most dedicated hand shakers hesitant, it is time to make other non-contact forms of greetings the norm. The ancient Indian greeting of Namaste is respectful, gets the point across and is universal in its palms touching and prayer like simplicity. Of course, bowing also works, as used in Japanese and other cultures. But bowing seems to give deference to royalty, as when you are supposed to bow or curtsy to some royal figure. The Vulcan greeting is wonderful for geeks of the world. There are also thumbs up, the devil fingers, the shaka sign, the finger gun, and the peace sign, among others. All beat the heck out of shaking hands. Deals used to be made with handshakes, now they can be executed with one’s favorite non-contact connection. Handshakes were never equal as someone with a bigger and stronger hand almost always squeezes the other hand too hard. An extra firm handshake evokes domination. The best outcome of dumping handshake will minimize the prime mode of germ transfer of colds and flu, and current and future viruses. Fist bumps and high fives are still cool, if they stop short of making a physical contact. Namaste is a connection with yourself as well as with other via a mutual agreement and it gives the sensation of warmth of human touch without making any personal contact.