Kalari

Kalari is the Malayalam word for the kind of gymnasium where Kalarippayattu, a martial art from Kerala, is practiced. "Kalari" translates as "threshing floor" or "battlefield". [http://www.anandfoundation.com/kalari.asp]

Every Kalari has a "Poothara" (Malayalam for "platform where flowers are kept"). It's a seven tiered platform placed in the south-west corner of every Kalari, housing the guardian deity of the Kalari. The seven tiers symbolise the seven abilities that each person must possess: Vignesva (strength), Channiga (patience), Vishnu (power to command), Vadugashcha (the posture), Tadaguru (training), Kali (the expression) and Vakasta - purushu (sound). Other deities, most of them incarnations of the Bhagavathi or Shiva, are installed in the corners. Flowers, incense and water are offered to the deity every day. Before starting the day's practice, it is the norm for practitioners to pray to the deity. Not only is the Kalari a temple of learning, but it is also a temple of religious worship with a cult and ritual of its own.

There is also a "Guruthara" inside all "kalaris". "Guruttara" means "the place where a lamp is kept burning in reverence to all the gurus (masters) of the kalari".

Construction of a Kalari

Traditionally the Kalari is constructed by digging a hollow in the ground forming a sunken area four feet in depth, forty-two feet in length and twenty-one feet in breadth. This is usually called KuzhiKalari. Kuzhi means "portions formed by caving in the earth" in the Malayalam language.

The entrance to the Kalari is in the east, to let in the morning sunlight, and leads into the forty-two foot leg running East-West while the twenty-one foot leg runs North-South. Another consideration taken when constructing the kalari is that it is built in the south-west side of the main plot, just like the puttara which is kept in the South-West corner of the Kalari itself. The floor of the Kalari is leveled using mud.

AnkaKalari and Ankathattu

Ankathattu is a four to six feet high platform constructed temporarily for the purpose of fighting duels. Ankam means war in the Malayalam language. This platform is constructed as per tradition and is in the center of the ground from where people can watch the fight. This place altogether is called AnkaKalari.

A few centuries back in Kerala, south India, quarrels between local rulers were resolved by fixing an "Ankam", a duel to the death, between two "Ankachekavar"s, each ruler being represented by one "Ankachekavar". The ruler represented by the surviving "Ankachekavar" was considered the winner.

Famous Kalaripayattu warriors: Aromal Chekavar, Thacholi Othenan, Thacholi Marumakan Chanthu, Prem Nath Gurukkal, and Unniyarcha.