The crowd gathers around the Indian Heritage Centre (IHC) on a Saturday afternoon (July 19) to witness Indian martial arts in action. War beats from percussion troupe Veeravel Urumi Melam and an opening dance from Royalusion ushered in a fight sequence at Kalari Academy’s 10th anniversary celebration.
Onlookers witnessed precise sword slices, the sharp swing of the axe countered by a shield, and the sheer power of the mace that could test the resolve of even the best fighters.
Yet, the toughest duel of all is against time. That is a fight that Kalari Academy is winning.
In 2015, Kalari Academy began at this very same area with a fight sequence at the IHC’s opening ceremony. Ten years on, it is still adding many feathers to its hat.
The academy has gained recognition as the only school in Singapore to teach the three ancient Indian martial arts: Kalaripayattu, Silambam and Adimurai.
It has progressed from holding open-air classes at Kallang Riverside Park to now having its own permanent space at 448 Serangoon Road.
Through online classes, the Kalari Academy has evolved into “a global digital classroom,” said co-founder E. Reuben. “We also recreated our very first martial arts stage play last year.”
Recounting this immense 10-year journey, Kalari Academy also released a photobook on July 19 in the presence of Minister of State (MOS) for Culture, Community and Youth and Manpower, Dinesh Vasu Dash.
Enthralled by Kalari Academy’s weapons display, Mr Dinesh even tried his hand at the whip sword and Silambam.
“You (Kalari Academy) have today trained over 500 students from diverse backgrounds and achieved, most remarkably, 45 per cent of female participation, showing strong gender diversity. You have engaged youths particularly, with 60 per cent of your students under the age of 18,” Mr Dinesh noted.
He also expressed his appreciation for Kalari Academy’s past collaboration with Wushu teams in Singapore. Mr Dinesh also expressed his desire for the incorporation of elements like Ayurvedic massage as well as more cross-cultural collaborations.
A fitting end to the ceremony was the premiere screening of Kalari Academy’s short film, ‘Immortal: Eclipse’, which depicts a portion of the Ramayana in a modern-day setting and features a fight sequence with real weapons in the Central Business District at night.
“This is a prelude toward our next stage play titled ‘Immortal: Raghava’. We are also in discussions to stage the third part of our Queen’s Gambit trilogy at this year’s Kalaa Utsavam,” co-founder of the academy, Mr Vedagiri Govindasamy said.
