Interview with Padma Shri S. R. D. Prasad: On the Martial Art Form of Kalarippayattu

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Notes

1 “The earliest Indian forms of martial practices was collectively known as Dhanur Veda (the science of archery)” (Zarrilli, 2012). It is a combination of two Sanskrit words, Dhanus (bow) and Veda (knowledge).

Zarrilli, P. B. (2012). Psychophysical Acting: An Intercultural Approach After Stanislavski. In Psychophysical Acting: An Intercultural Approach After Stanislavski. Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203375280.

2 Coastal plain of western India, lying between the Arabian Sea (west) and the Western Ghats (east).

3 Ancient Indo-Inranians used this term as an ethnocultural self-designation.

4 “Socioculturally isolated, highly endogamous groups, who are subdivisions or classes of the Brahmin or priest caste”. (Bhatnagar & Agrawal, 2002).

Bhatnagar, S., and Agrawal, S. (2002). “Surname Endogamy among the Brahmin of India.” Current Sociology 50(6): 853–861. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392102050006005.

5 It is two Malayalam words translated as Adi means ‘Attack’ and Thada means ‘Defence.’

6 A type of educational system existed in ancient India where students stayed with their Guru (master) during the entire course of education.

7 a war that is fought by following mutually decided rules to make the war fair.

8 He was a prince of the Kottayam Kingdom who fought against British East India Company in the late 18^th centuary.

9 Malabar region starts from north of the Bharathapuzha and spreads to parts of Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts of Kerala.

10 Part of the union territory of India.

11 Thomas Babington Macaulay was a 19th-century British statesman and historian who introduced Western institutional education to India.

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Notes on contributors

Aparna Nandha

Aparna Nandha is an assistant professor in English in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India. She works on the broad domains of historiographic metafiction and health humanities. She is the principal investigator of the Indian National Science Academy-funded project titled “History of Kalarippayattu and its Links with Indigenous Medical Practices.’ Her body of work engages with promoting sustainable health by reviving local cultural practices.

Aneesh V. Suresh

Aneesh V. Suresh is a Junior Research Fellow in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India. His areas of research interest are the Indian Knowledge System, Indigenous Medical Practices, Health benefits of Martial practices, and Kalaripayattu & Associated studies.