These Kalari warriors pack quite a punch

BANGALORE: Blades gleamed, shields clashed and the sound of the metal resonated in the air at National Games Village. The movements were nimble. The warriors were up in the air, and their swords met for the fraction of a second before they landed steadfast on the ground.
Once the action stopped, Chethana Prithviraj, 32, walked down from the stage, breathing hard. She walked over to her nine-year-old daughter, Inika, and tightened the red 'kachha' around her waist.The mother-daughter duo was only one of the head turners at the Karnataka State Kalaripayattu Championship on Saturday.
Kalaripayattu being a martial art with its roots in Kerala, it was surprising to see the number of participants in the IT city. From a six-year-old boy to a Mexican chef and a corporate lawyer, the competition, the first-of-its-kind in Karnataka, had 60 participants. Engaging in sword and shield fights and urumi (the curling blade), the warriors clashed with astonishing agility and stamina, ignoring the small cuts and bruises that occurred midway.
Manasa Priya, a 24-year-old Bangalorean, said: "In India, it is important to learn how to defend oneself. I didn't want to learn a martial art that is not of Indian origin."
Age is no barrier for the practitioners. "I started learning kalari almost two years ago. There is no time limit to learn something. If you want to pursue something sincerely, you can always take out time," said Tanuja Reddy, 36, a homemaker. Tanuja joined the sessions with her 14-year-old daughter.
Chethana seems to agree. "Age is not a problem. Of course, I don't have my daughter's flexibility but I enjoy it as much as she does," she said.
For many, Kalaripayattu has become a way of life. "I started pursuing it when I was 16. Now, it's about the fitness factor, the beauty of the movements and the joy of doing it," said Ramu Madanan, a corporate lawyer.
To each his own
Kalaripayattu is popular in Bangalore. We have around 150 students in our academy alone, in the age group of 6 to 54. Everyone has their own reasons to learn the combat art. I have some dancers who want to improve their flexibility and enhance their dance steps. For working people, it's a stress buster. Children want to improve their concentration
- Ranjan Mullaratt, a trainer