Revival of an ancient art form

BANGALORE: Kalaripayattu, an martial art form from ‘God’s own Country’, Kerela, gained immense popularity over the years within country and abroad. The inherent beauty of this art form lies in the harmonious synergy of art, science and medicine.City-based kalari artiste, Dilsagar, who has been training in the martial art form since the age of seven, is now teaching the art to other young enthusiasts. Apart from training and practicing Kalaripayattu, he also conducts conducting live-shows and choreographs song sequences for films.  The artiste talks about his performances, advantages of practicing the martial art and more. Dilsagar speaking about the origin of Kalaripayattu of said, “It is believed that this martial art originated from Lord Shiva, who then passed the art form to Parashuram and later to the Nairs in Kerala. But today hierarchy does not exist anymore.”He said that many contemporary dance forms are based on Kalaripayattu today. It is gaining importance among the martial art forms performed across the world. “It is considered to be the mother of all martial art forms. It is not a dying art as there are many across the world who are keen to learn Kalaripayattu. There are films which have highlighted the significance of it as well,” said the trainer.As Kalaripayattu helps enhancing stamina, flexibility, and concentration, Dilsagar believes that, like all other defence forms this too has to be performed under proper guidance. “There are many instances, where people have hurt themselves, as they were given wrong guidance,” he said.Kalaripayattu is performance oriented and one has to master its moves, speed and flexibility of the body while performing this art. Speaking about the training and instructions, Dilsagar added, “It is ideal and appropriate to start learning at the age of seven. But this again depends on the structure of the body. A student can start learning the technique at five, as he or she will be able to understand what he or she is being taught. At the initial stages I used to practice for five hours a day.” The artist will be performing with eight others at the Kalagoda, in Mumbai for the contemporary dance festival. Speaking about his performance which is slated for February 11, he said, “We are performing in a show called ‘Aham Pratigatasmi’, in which a warrior loses his battle. All is not lost, as he learns from his mistakes  and trains harder to come back to the battle field to win back what he lost.”