Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu): Making optimum use of the COVID-19 lockdown, an octogenarian from Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district has been training youngsters in traditional martial arts, which have been dying a slow death over the years.
At the ripe age of 81, Ganapathy of Karuvazhakarai Melaiyur village is training the youth and children in his village the art of self-defence. He is driven by the passion to protect the native martial arts that are moving towards extinction.
Sporting a new look, the village school ground has turned into a training camp. While some youth wield machetes, learning the nuances of 'Aruva Veechu', defending and attacking, some others are holding full-length bamboo rods, getting into the groove of 'Silambam', while a few others are into wrestling.
Thanks to the lockdown, Ganapathy reignited his interest in teaching after a long gap.
His team has now increased to over 20 from a mere five, when Ganapathy started his classes in early April this year soon after the lockdown was imposed. The classes are free but the training is rigorous. That he has been engaging the youth and children at this age has come as a surprise for the villagers, but for Ganapathy himself, it is nothing unusual.
"Learning the art of self-defence has become desirable in today's world. Yet, the ancient Tamil Martial Arts like Silambam, Aruva Veechu and Wrestling (Mal Yudh) among others are on the path of extinction for lack of patronage and support, particularly from the government. My sole aim in teaching and training the youth is to preserve the arts for the next generation. Urbanisation has made people ignorant of these martial arts," said Ganapathy, who had learnt them when he was just 12.
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"With a burning passion to master these martial arts, I did not pursue studies after class five. Martial arts help one to synchronise the body and mind. I have been training the youth since I was 22 years old. So far I have taught over 2,000 youth for free. I take those who are above seven years and below 35 years. Because of ageing, I had stopped teaching a couple of years back. But seeing the youth wandering in the lockdown, I decided to revive the classes," he added.
The martial arts expert had performed during the 1981 World Tamil Conference at Madurai and has worked in movies as well. In the film, 'Mannin Mainthargal', which was supposed to be the debut movie of actor Bhanupriya, he had worked as the stunt master. However, the film never hit the screens.
The traditional martial arts, which are the pride and heritage of the Tamil community, should not be allowed to die a slow death, Ganapathy said, demanding that the government take steps to save them from extinction.
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