KOZHIKODE: Senior kalari gurukkals across Keralam, particularly in the historic Kadathanad region of Kozhikode, have raised strong opposition to the commercialisation, exclusion, and dilution of the martial art form kalaripayattu under a six-month diploma course. The programme, launched under the Rural Arts Hub (RAH) initiative in association with the Kerala Folklore Academy and Kannur University, has sparked widespread resentment among traditional practitioners. The row has deepened following revelations from newly appointed leadership at the Academy, which disclosed that the Academy will reconsider the programme.
Traditional practitioners contend that the scheme undermines an ancient martial art that traditionally requires 10 to 12 years of dedicated practice to master.
Under the RAH programme, candidates are charged Rs 30,000 for a six-month crash course. Additionally, training centres are required to deposit an upfront fee of Rs 1,00,000 into the RAH account to receive affiliation.
“They just want to take this traditional art, wrap it up in a six-month diploma course, issue certificates, and ruin its value. There is no other purpose behind it,” said Sasidharan Gurukkal, a senior practitioner who has operated a traditional kuzhi kalari for over three decades.
While course organisers claim that the Rs 1 lakh fee covers physical inspections cost, university affiliations, exams, and setting up external faculty for theoretical subjects like anatomy and history, masters argue that student tuition alone should cover these expenses.
“They are already collecting Rs 30,000 from each student. That amount alone should cover all these expenses. So why collect another `1 lakh from the Gurukkals?” the practitioner added, pointing out that many veteran masters cannot afford such fees.
“This initiative is structured as a tiered academic programme starting with an initial six-month certificate course requiring specific hours of instruction covering basic techniques like meippayattu and kolthari payattu along with a theoretical exam and is planned to progress into a one-year diploma and an eventual degree programme,” said Mukundhan Gurukkal of Purameri who joined the programme and attended a workshop held recently for representatives of selected kalari units under the programme.
He said that students also need to pay a particular fees, of which Rs 10,000 goes to the participating kalari training centre.
“Completion requires an SSLC qualification and gives candidates a recognised credential that may afford them preference for physical education teaching roles. Traditional Gurukkals have raised worries that institutionalised certification could eventually marginalise traditional practitioners much like Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery degrees impacted traditional Ayurveda doctors. We are taking part in the programme thinking that we should be part of such government initiatives and hope that it would boost this filed,” he said.
The selection process for affiliated centres has drawn criticism for its lack of transparency. Out of over 1,000 established kalaris in Kerala, 135 applied, but only 40 centres were granted affiliation-specifically those that remitted the Rs 1 lakh fee. In the Vadakara-Kadathanad region, which is known for kalaripayattu, only three centres — from Vadakara, Nadapuram and Purameri — were selected, alongside one kalari centre in Kozhikode town.
Protesting masters submitted a memorandum to ministers demanding a comprehensive probe into the initiative. Efforts to negotiate a standardised curriculum covering diverse styles such as Northern Muchaan Payattu and Southern Adimurai were also rejected by course administrators in favour of a condensed syllabus.
Amid rising protests, RTI filings, and legal actions by Gurukkals, the newly appointed chairman of the Academy, Suresh Babu Elayavoor, clarified that the current academy leadership had no direct involvement in launching or structuring the course. “When we took charge recently, this whole thing was already happening. But the Academy has no direct involvement in this,” he said.
“The project ‘Rural Arts Hub’ is a scheme initiated by the previous government to encourage rural artists. But something different happened here when this kalaripayattu course came into the picture under it. A lot of discussions are going on and we acknowledge the concerns of the kalari gurukkals and we will hold a press conference in the coming days to declare our final decisions on this programme. How can someone become a kalari gurukkal when traditional masters spend decades mastering it?”