Soma Basu leaps high in the air with a sword, ready to attack her opponent Roshni Bara. The latter blocks the move with her shield. Watching them from a corner of the kalari pit is a group of young, lithe youngsters, all female. Next in line is Sangita Roy and Mamoni Das for a duel using sticks.
The 48-hour train journey from Kolkata to Thiruvananthapuram and the humidity do not seem to have exhausted them although they have been practising since 6 am at Maruthi Marma Chikilsa and Kalari Sangham, Mudavanmugal. As Ajith Kumar, their guru, takes them through their routine with terse commands, the girls seem to be fluidity personified. They shift from one stance to the other with incredible speed, performing stretches, leaps, jumps, twists and flips. Then they fight in pairs, with sword and shield, sticks, daggers and without weapons till they take a break to have breakfast.
The all-women Kalaripayattu troupe practising at Maruti Marma Chikilsa and Kalari Sangham, Mudavanmugal
These women, all members of Kolkata-based Baguiati Nritya Mandir, are sweating it out to roll out an all-women Kalaripayattu troupe. Spearheading the initiative is Maruti Kalari, founded by Ajith’s father, Thankappan asan , in 1957. “We call it Penpayattu. The troupe is being launched as part of National Youth Concord, an initiative of Kerala State Youth Welfare Board. Our girls need to be made strong and confident and we feel proud to be spearheading this, perhaps the first-of-its-kind in the country. What encourages me as a teacher is that they are extremely dedicated,” says Ajith. In the one-hour show, the 12-member group will showcase key components of Kalaripayattu such as chuvadus (steps), meypayattu (combination of exercises) and combat using sticks, sword and shield, knife, axe, spear and whip sword or urumi and free-hand fights. “Even though some moves may seem tough for women, it is the job of a teacher to make it easy for them. However, since they are performing for the first time, there will be four men from the kalari to support them in different kinds of combat,” Ajith adds. In addition, four women from the kalari will be performing with the troupe — Monika K., a German national, Anu Smitha, city-based yoga and gym trainer, Indirakumari, Ajith’s sister, and Amritha A.S., Ajith’s nine-year-old daughter.
A practise session at Maruti Marma Chikilsa and Kalari Sangham, Mudavanmugal
Soma Giri, founder of 15-year-old Baguiati Nritya Mandir, says that the formation of the troupe is a moment of triumph for the girls and herself. “All of them hail from economically backward families. Most of them have only their widowed mothers earning for the family, working as housemaids, cooks or daily wage labourers. Dance is something that gives them happiness and Kalaripayattu has changed them altogether. They have become confident, want to study, do better in life and prove themselves,” says Soma, a Bharatanatyam, Chhau and contemporary dancer.
Her words echo as the young women talk about their experiences. “ Bahut accha lagta hai ... Life has been really tough ever since I could remember. But now I feel strong enough to face the world. There is the pressure to earn a livelihood, but I do get support from my family,” says Roshni Srivastava, a member of the group.
Dreaming big
The regimen is never easy and some of them weren’t sure about taking it this far. “We were worried about how we would do the combats with sticks, sword, knife and the like. It requires immense strength, stamina, patience and perseverance. Another problem was although our families have been quite supportive, neighbours and society in general are not happy with what we do. They are like, ‘what are you going to do with dance and Kalaripayattu? After all, you have to get married one day.’ But we don’t pay heed to all that these days,” says Roshni Bara.
Ajith Kumar and Soma Giri
While Sangita says she now dares to dream big for her mother, a housemaid, Priyanka Show hopes her mother may not have to make paper bags for long. Sarmpa Karmakar, the only one with a job in the group, adds, “We all want to achieve a lot in life. We want to show the world that we are in no way inferior to men. We are in a struggling phase, but definitely we will be on top one day. Kalaripayattu has given us that confidence,” says Sampa.
In fact, they have also been saving money for this trip to Kerala. “We have been doing that for the last one year. Our teacher has been doing so much for us, meeting the expenses for our costume and travel. This is the best we can do,” says Roshni. They have also bought along necessary grocery and stationery for their short stay. “We have heard potato is very costly here and so each of us carried two kilos each with us! Since we use mustard oil for cooking, we brought that as well,” say the girls with a smile.
A practise session at Maruti Marma Chikilsa and Kalari Sangham, Mudavanmugal
Looking on with pride at her team, Soma says, “Learning Kalaripayattu is important for them and so they are ready to go to any extent to make it possible.”
