Meenakshi Raghavan is wearing a red sari with a gold border. The diminutive woman is twice her size and less than half her age, but she still matches each strike from her opponent with an alert ferocity that reflects in her eyes. The arena in Vadakara, a small town in northern India, is where Meenakshi Amma trains her students in the martial art of kal. One of her students swings his sword through the air, but Meenakshi Amma suddenly twists on the mud floor and dodges the attack, taking her student by surprise.

Everything about Meenakshi is a surprise. The oldest woman practicing this ancient practice is 81 years old, and she is a teacher. She is credited in popularizing the once-banned practice and with inspiring women to take up the martial art as a means to self-defense.

The word kalaripayattu is derived from the Sanskrit wordkhalurika, meaning battlefield or military training ground, and was practiced by the warriors of the Nair community. One of the more complex martial arts are yoga postures with wooden sticks, metal blades and bare-hand combat techniques. It tests the limits of the mind and body.

Kalaripayattu had been a part of the culture in Kerala for centuries until it was banned under British rule in the early 19th century.
Kalaripayattu had been a part of the culture in Kerala for centuries until it was banned under British rule in the early 19th century.

kalarippayattu was ingrained in the culture of the state for centuries according to the historian and Kalaripayattu master. It was both a mode of warfare and a method of resolving disputes. Women and men trained together. Unniyarcha, a 16th-century woman warrior, became a fixture in the folklore of Kerala.

THE GASTRO OBSCURA BOOK

The world needs to be tasted!

An eye-opening journey through the history, culture, and places of the culinary world. Order Now Gastro Obscura Book

The arrival of Europeans in the late 15th century began the decline of kalaripayattu. The firearms of the Portuguese were superior to its traditional weapons. British rule was the final blow. The British officer Lord William Bentick issued a government order banning possession of weapons and weapons training after an armed revolt between 1796 and 1805 by the combined forces of Pazhassi Raza, warriors, and Nair tribes of Wayanad. The young men and women were not allowed to learn or practice martial arts for almost 150 years because of the British rule.

The ban on the practice of kalaripayattu by the British was lifted in the early 1900s. The ban almost wiped out the tradition of systematic practice of martial arts. The slow revival began when some of the traditionally trained gurus started training villagers again. The revival of martial arts started with the formation of the State Kalaripayattu Association, almost a decade after independence of India.

Meenakshi Amma, pictured here as a child with her father, started kalaripayattu at the traditional age of seven, despite the fact that few girls participated in the martial art when it reemerged in the mid 20th century.
Meenakshi Amma, pictured here as a child with her father, started kalaripayattu at the traditional age of seven, despite the fact that few girls participated in the martial art when it reemerged in the mid 20th century.

When Meenakshi was seven years old, her father introduced her to the practice of kalaripayattu on the advice of her classical dance teacher. The matriarch says that it is so much a part of her now that she started training under her future husband.

In the mid-20th century, it was rare to see a woman in the kalari. The legends of 16th century female warriors like Unniyarcha were only mentioned in ballads.

Meenakshi Amma, who married her kalaripayattu teacher, continued her practice even after she gave birth to her second child. I prepared the herbal oils and Ayurvedic medicines for massage treatment for vital pressure points of the body.

Meenakshi Amma's example brought more girls and women to kalaripayattu. “Learning the martial arts makes women fearless,” she says.
Meenakshi Amma’s example brought more girls and women to kalaripayattu. “Learning the martial arts makes women fearless,” she says.

After the death of her husband, Meenakshi Amma stepped into his shoes as a gurukkal and has trained people from all over the country and abroad. One of her students who runs a kalaripayattu school in Wayanad says that she was like a mother to her students.

One of India's highest civilian awards was given to Meenakshi Amma. The revival of Kalaripayattu was caused by the massive media coverage Meenakshi received after her national recognition.

Seeing an old woman handling spears, swords and sticks made young women want to learn kalaripayattu.