By Sushmita Dey
Chennai: Silambam instructor K. Raghunathan wants to promote the ancient weapon-based Indian martial art as a sport for girls too.
“Girls are subjected to a lot of cruelty in society, especially when they’re alone. So, I want girls to learn silambam as an art of self-defence.”
Until recently, girls were not interested in learning this art. Hence, there are no woman teachers in this sport.
Inspired and trained by his father, Raghunathan has been imparting silambam training classes for the past 40 years in Chennai.
Silambam, which originated in South India, is even mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature. The name is derived from the Tamil word Silambal - ‘silam’ stands for mountain and ‘bam’ for bamboo, a primary weapon used in this art form.
As a kid, he used to go to the Besant Nagar beach to practice this art form with other students. But for a seven-year-old boy, it wasn’t just learning the sport. He felt infused with strength and courage through a flurry of techniques.
In the past 40 years, he has been doing his best to do something for people who want to learn this martial art form. To make ‘silambam’ a part of the school curriculum, he once launched a campaign to cycle from Kanyakumari to Chennai.
Irrespective of their age and gender, Raghunathan offers daily classes to everyone eager to learn the art, sometimes without charging fees. He said many silambam players also learn to perform the art of fire blowing and practice with swords, and spears.
On November 19, 2021, the government issued a G.O and designated ‘Silambam,’ as one of the games included for the 3% sports quota in recruitments to government departments and public sector undertakings.
Over the years, 2,000 Silambam trainees joined the uniformed departments of Tamil Nadu under the silambam sports quota.
One of the parents from the evening classes near Indiranagar Railway Station said,
“Today, it is because of his efforts that there are many silambam teachers in other villages and cities.”
For Ragunathan, the next step is to reach as many schools as possible to inculcate this traditional art form – silambam, as a part of their syllabus… to get recognition at both national and international levels.
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