Thatched roof above. Baked red earth below. Tired feet leave imprints on the fine dust that coats the Kalari pit. A pile of weapons — swords, knives, sticks, shields. Two young men wage fierce battle with each other, while another watches. The winding loin cloth may have been replaced by sweats but the thwack of two sticks meeting, the perspiration that coats the brow and the complex, fluid series of postures remain essentially the same and has been so for centuries.
They say that Kalaripayattu is as old as the state of its origin, Kerala. Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, is said to have thrown his axe into the turbulent sea and the state of Kerala emerged from it. To protect the land and the people, he initiated them into this art form which marries strength, grace and healing.
“Most Indian traditions always stem back to a divine intervention,” laughs Kalari expert, Shaji K. John, who practises the North Malabar style of this martial art and teaches it at Spaces, Besant Nagar. “I think it evolved because man needed to defend himself by employing these fighting techniques. However it isn’t simply a physical practice but a spiritual one,” he says.
“Kalari is one of the best martial art systems available to us,” says Kannan Pugazhendi, city-based sports physician who counsels at the Sports Performance Assessment Rehabilitation Research Counselling Institute and has practised Kalari for over two decades. “In my opinion, it is far ahead of any other self-defence system because it doesn’t just prepare you for one-on-one combat but for battle.”
However, the art takes years to master and demands extreme commitment, passion, patience and dedication — not easy in an age where quick-fixes are a norm. Yet there are a fair number of people in the city who swear by it.
“I got into Kalari because I wanted to be healthy,” says Shaji. “It made me flexible and strong. In fact, the first stage, Meithari, is a fight with your body’s laziness, lack of direction and flexibility.”
The series of physical exercises are complex and demanding, including jumping, stances, sequences and kicks intended to enhance stamina, fitness and balance.
“Many people who come for Kalari classes do use it as a way to stay in shape. They are looking for something more dynamic than yoga, but which doesn’t need them to visit the gym. It is also fairly gentle on the body as the progression is gradual — the master will not teach you the next posture unless you master the previous one,” says Jyotsna John, a fitness evangelist who has practised the art.
According to Vasant, another city-based Kalari exponent who teaches the art at Evolve Earth, Egmore, “Your body gets into a good form because you are exercising. It is supposed to improve concentration and balance. We start weapons training only when you are flexible.”
The weapon training starts with Kolthari (wooden weapons) before moving to Angathari (metal weapons) and the most advanced is Verumkai (bare-handed techniques of locking, gripping, throwing, blocking, striking and kicking techniques as well as vital-point attack).
However, Kalari is far more than fitness and self-defence; it is also said to be a healing system which includes the treatment of injury and illness. According to Ram Bhat, who has been practising the same for nearly six years now, “I had a bad fall and broke my knee while playing basketball and started Kalari while I was recuperating from my injury. It was hard at first — it is an organic system which requires time and patience and as a sportsperson used to plenty of action, I wasn’t used to the pace of learning. The first time I attended a class, I was simply advised to lie down and breathe in and out — I went to sleep,” he laughs.
But he persevered and was soon hooked, “I also play soccer and basketball and Kalari made me a better player.”
“I got into Kalari mostly because I wanted to learn Marma — the ability to heal through the practice, as I wanted to know how to address sports injuries on the field. I was told that I had to master the martial movement to understand the healing,” says Dr. Kannan.
And there have been no regrets, “A kalari practitioner never stops learning and I am still a student. No art can be learnt in a short time. It is a lifetime pursuit which requires commitment.
