05-19-2007, 11:33 AM
I remember one episode of TV Serial 'Discovery of India' in which they showed that Raja Raja Chola (played by Om Puri - though in my imagination Rajaraja must have been an enormously handsome man) appoints a Korean/Chinese expert to create a new regiment of his army trained in Kalari-Payattu-based chinese-perfected martial arts.
I also remember seeing in another one (based upon a portugese account) that every morning Raja Krishna Deva Rai of Vijayanagara used to drink a large volume of ghee/dhrit (5 litres!) and spend morning hours in malla practice followed by horse riding and swords. I remember being amazed.
How true may be the above two?
Recently someone gave me a video film on Ayurveda, in which is interviewed a descendant of traditional practiceners of Siddha medicine/Marma Shastra living in Coimbatore, describing how Europeans in 18/19th century cut off the fingers of their forefathers to suppress that art, and reounts how kings of Malabar valued the worth of this art as to secretly protect some of them, even at the cost angering their allies - the British. Also seen another video, a National Geographic episode on Kalari Payattu. This is a very well researched documentary. (I hope all have seen that. If not, I can try to upload on youtube.)
Can KP be learnt today by someone living far from Kerala?
I also remember seeing in another one (based upon a portugese account) that every morning Raja Krishna Deva Rai of Vijayanagara used to drink a large volume of ghee/dhrit (5 litres!) and spend morning hours in malla practice followed by horse riding and swords. I remember being amazed.
How true may be the above two?
Recently someone gave me a video film on Ayurveda, in which is interviewed a descendant of traditional practiceners of Siddha medicine/Marma Shastra living in Coimbatore, describing how Europeans in 18/19th century cut off the fingers of their forefathers to suppress that art, and reounts how kings of Malabar valued the worth of this art as to secretly protect some of them, even at the cost angering their allies - the British. Also seen another video, a National Geographic episode on Kalari Payattu. This is a very well researched documentary. (I hope all have seen that. If not, I can try to upload on youtube.)
Can KP be learnt today by someone living far from Kerala?