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Kalari remixed

The Kalari Academy of Performing Arts' show blended traditional aspects of Kalaripayattu with some contemporary ideas

RAW ENERGY The grand finale had Kalaripayattu movements set to the beats of the late Ustad Alla Rakha's tabla PHOTO: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Kalaripayattu is considered the ancestor to modern martial arts such as karate. Though full of fluid moves and steeped in tradition, it has seen a contemporary twist by the city-based Kalari Academy of Performing Arts run by Ranjan Mullaratt. His version was on show for a packed audience at Town Hall last week.

Mimicking animals

The performance began with the traditional welcome, Kalari Vandanam, followed by the Ashtha Vadivu, the eight animal movements that are the basics of Kalaripayattu. The youngsters at the academy performed this. As part of the contemporary twist, a documentary on the history of Kalaripayattu and the various stages of the art was played on a large screen to keep the audience in the loop. The first stage of combat in Kalari uses wooden weapons and is called Kolthari. The wooden weapons used include the ottakol, kettukaeri, gadha and muchan. Of these, the demonstration with the gadha was the most impressive. The weapon weighs quite a bit and the practitioner has to have great skill to use the momentum generated by the movement of the weapon.

Next was Angathari, the weapons used here are sword (valu), shield (parija), spear (kundam), dagger (kattaram) and flexible sword (urumi).

Here some of the performers were from the P.K.B. Kalari in Guruvayoor because the level of skill required to handle these weapons is high.

The weapons used were not dummies meant for shows but were as sharp as they can get with sparks flying whenever steel met steel. The urumi, especially, was quite an experience for those sitting in the front row, considering that the weapon is a long, highly malleable steel strip with edges that require just the slightest contact to cut.

Disarming the enemy

Interestingly, the practitioners also demonstrated how one need not feel at a disadvantage while facing such weapons unarmed, as they went about disarming opponents using bare hands. The grand finale was a contemporary dance routine by Mullaratt's students. Here they used their movements gleaned from Kalaripayattu with a background score by the late Ustad Alla Rakha.

Way forward

Though it might not please purists, Mullaratt said this is the way forward if the art is to survive. "We first tried this five years back so that people can understand the nuances of the art better and go beyond the assumption that Kalaripayattu is just fighting. Since Kalaripayattu movements are very graceful, they go very well with our routine. It is hard to find traditional Kalaripayattu nowadays. It has undergone changes. We need this to keep the art alive."

Mullaratt plans to next translate the background documentary, which is presently in English, into Kannada and other languages so that he can connect with the audience better.

For details on the academy call Ranjan Mullaratt on 9844170126.

ANAND SANKAR

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