MADURAI: Anybody passing through Y Othakadai in Madurai is unlikely to miss ‘Raj Martial Arts Arakkatalai’ where hundreds of underprivileged children are trained in the art of silambam, the ancient martial art, for free. S Pandi (37), the silambam master, runs the centre with the money he earns from being a sanitary worker.
It was through his father S Suppan, a wrestler, that Pandi got the impetus to learn silambam. “I learnt silambam to handle my father’s punches actually,” he said smiling, and added, “Having a wrestler for a father can be tough; whenever he spars with me at home, I end up with swollen muscles.”
So at age 17, he learnt martial art from his uncle Raj, a silambam trainer. Raj taught him the values of discipline and respect towards martial art and suggested teaching it for free. “He would keep saying that for this indigenous art to be able to reach many people, we should teach it for free to at least 100 people,” he said.
A major accident in 2000 left Pandi’s right hand injured, and he was unable to engage in silambam until 2009, when he finally displayed his skills at the village festival much to the astonishment of everyone, including his wife. Upon her insistence on restarting his practice, he opened ‘Raj Martial Arts Arakkattalai’ in 2017, in memory of his uncle.
Pandi’s routine starts at 6 am when he sweeps the streets near the Madurai bench of Madras High Court. At around 11 am, he holds silambam classes for government school students. At 5.30 pm, he holds classes for about 300 students. His elder daughter P Muthalagu (13), is also well-trained in silambam and has participated in international tournaments. Growing up, watching her father practice, obviously stirred her interest in martial art, and she now holds classes for girls and women.
Pandi also teaches kai silambam, one of the earliest forms of silambam where only the hands are used. “Once a student masters kai silambam, they can take down an opponent using any material as a weapon,” he says. “We’re teaching more girls because they’re the ones who need self-defence the most,” he adds.
Joshua Ebenezer (16), a senior silambam student and winner of two international tournaments, lauds his master’s patience towards teaching, and he never rushes into things. “Our master says that education is equally important as martial arts. So he encourages us to study well.” Despite earning less, he gives away money out of his pocket, when we run out of money for tournaments, he adds.
B D Moses Mangala Raj, (48) who teaches students of Class 1-5 at the Madurai East Panchayat Union Primary School Y Othakadai, learnt through Muthalagu, who studied there, about her father’s free silambam classes. He then approached the school principal and recommended Pandi’s classes for the students.
“Past three years, Pandi has been taking free silambam classes for our students. His way of teaching is quite impressive, and his passion passes through to all his students,” Moses said. He added how a number of students who were poor performers academically got better after taking up Pandi’s silambam classes.
Being the sole breadwinner of the family, while also running an academy that holds free classes, gets very tough.
But there are occasional moments of respite. Pandi narrated an incident of how one parent was reluctant to let his son take free classes, “I suggested that he sponsor the lunch expenses for students who were preparing for tournaments. He then contributed `50,000,” Pandi remarked.
The sports quota, Pandi said, has helped several students from his academy get placement in colleges. “ I would like to continue the same work in the future, to support and bring poor students,” he added.