Conversation with Shriram Vakade on Kalaripayattu

Every day I wake up, a battle starts. A battle, more so with the demons inside who impact the way I behave outside. On one hand there’s a side of me that loves snoozing the alarm, relaxing endlessly and finding excuses and on the other hand there’s a side that is hunting for life’s purpose, chasing it and wanting to achieve it.

At any point in time if I am ever asked about living this one life and what all would I love to achieve, I can rattle out a long list of ‘To-Do’s and an even longer bucket list of ‘Wish To-Do’s. For good or bad, I’m not sure but being the kind of person that I am, there are always things I’m looking forward to do and tick things as often as I can. The secret to winning these wars I learn lies in being physically fit and developing a mindset that trains us to think the short term pains that we call sacrifices are indeed long terms investments, the fruits of which we can relish later.

It was prior to the International Yoga Day, June 21^st that I was scrolling through Instagram when I discovered KalariYogi Shriram’s handle with him performing different postures. I was quite fascinated with what he had put out there while I also wanted to know more about Kalaripayattu as I wasn’t too familiar with it. I reached out to him to get to know more and then thought I might as well share his knowledge with others. In a nutshell, Shriram views his practice “as a way of life that helps you to become the best version of yourself and helps you connect with your inner true self”

Shriram Vakade, Yoga Teacher, Kalaripayattu Practitioner, Sound Healer, Holistic Health Promoter

At one point in time Shriram was a techie by day, a Yoga trainer in the evenings, leading trek groups for an adventure company during weekends and pursuing his research job in the field of sound meditation. Phew! I’m going to stop complaining about lack of time.

His keen interest in Indian art and culture got him to deep dive into studying more about Yoga and Kalaripayattu. Currently, he is a full time certified Yoga teacher specializing in Kalaripayattu and a sound meditation expert. Cycling and mountaineering are passions he pursues alongside. On quizzing him as to how did he convince his folks that he was going to leave a cushy job to take the arduous trek route in real life, he quipped “They still think I should do Civil Services and don’t completely approve what I do”. Parents are cute beings 😀

With a lot more people turning to Yoga and as we witness the mushrooming of many teachers in this field, it is essential to understand the deeper significance of the practice. Yogasana is an amalgamation of the physical, mental and spiritual practice bringing about unison of the body and the consciousness with our surroundings, the nature. Shriram agrees that definitely greater number of people are aware of Yoga and its amazing benefits than earlier and are adopting it but he feels “A lot of people look only for the physical benefits of yoga and don’t go beyond it. Stillness and inner connect to oneself is the true essence” and that he senses missing and is being lost in the great body transformation aspect practitioners expect from this form.

“My practices have taught me to look beyond outer physical health, and think also in terms of organ health. I find myself being a lot more positive, confident and calm and my ability to handle tough situations has increased multi fold.”

And, a practice like Kalaripayattu gets you exactly that – the zeal inside and the strength outside. Much like many of you can first guess from the name, Kalaripayattu is an ancient Indian martial art from Kerala. Seen as the most scientific type of martial art form in the world, it is believed that only those who possess the unique skills required to withstand the rigorous training can perform the art. This traditional sport, centers on self-analysis and self-control over attack and offense.

“Kalari” denotes “battlefield” in Tamil and Malayalam while “Payattu” means “to become trained” or “to practice”. In essence, this art form trains you for the battlefield. You get skilled internally and externally as along with boosting body flexibility and making you quick it increases your patience levels and assists in improving your focus and concentration.

At the beginning, the trainees undergo regular oil massage to make their bodies supple and agile. This is followed by teaching the basic moves including pootu (locks), valivu (throws), chaattom (jumping), ottam (running) to gain mastery over body balance.

Originally, a secret fighting method of the warrior caste of Kerala Kalaripayattu, had rigorous physical training, breathing techniques, meditation, healing and armed and unarmed combat. Indian mythology has it that Parashurama, the incarnation of Vishnu, who was a master in weaponry had learnt this from Lord Shiva and established Kalaripayattu. Drawing inspiration from the raw power, immense strength and spontaneous fighting techniques of animals like lion, tiger, wild boar, elephant, crocodile Kalaripayattu has a mention in Hinduism’s Dhanur Veda. Discipline, technique and hard work form the base of this oldest martial art and is as magnificent as the more popularly known Karate and Kung-fu.

As Shriram puts it, “Kalaripayattu is Yoga as a martial art form to channelize the inner warrior spirit. It has all the elements of Yoga but is a lot more dynamic in nature which I feel is much required for the fast paced world we live in.”

Owing to the arduous bends and rigorous moves Kalaripayattu eliminates any amount of laziness you feel and keeps you energized. Shriram’s regular Sadhana has turned him into a total disciplinarian wherein no matter what, every single day he rolls open his mat and gets on it at the designated time. “Some days I may choose to practice strong Vinyasa and Kalaripayattu other days I might end up doing restorative yoga or just lie down on my mat with legs against wall in viparita karni. But I choose to get on my mat daily.”

Starting his day at 4:30 am and taking out time for self-sadhana before his regular classes, he has adopted his art as his lifestyle. Living a meaningful life with a purpose of spreading Yoga and Kalaripayattu to as many people to get them to understand the intricacies of human personalities, and a means to spiritual progress while improving physical and mental health, he has found his path to contentment.

P.S. Shriram has kindly agreed to do a free session on 19th July, 2020 for those of you who are keen to know more about Kalaripayattu. Please register here with your details.

He also takes classes on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. You can reach him on +91 98459 58826 and follow him on Instagram.

You can also read: