Kalari Gurukkal Meenakshi Amma flashes a faint smile when she recalls the caning she used to get as a student of Kalaripayattu several decades ago. “I don’t teach like that. That was an anachronism. All women must learn Kalaripayattu to defend themselves. It is one of the best forms of self-defence,” says the 80-year-old, perhaps the oldest practitioner of Kalaripyattu, the martial art form of Kerala.
Dressed in a grey-and-pink sari and with her hair tied tightly in a demure bun, she resembles a benevolent matriarch until she steps into the Kalari, the red earth-packed arena where the students practice, teach, or showcase the art of Kalaripayattu. Agile and light on her feet, she takes on her much younger disciples with ease, whether it be with the stick, sword or the urumi (a flexible double-bladed sword). Concentrating on every move of her opponent, she matches him/her, move for move, in an amazing display of dexterity.
