Relaying the mud floor: a week in April
How we dig, beat and dry the kalari floor each summer, and why students are asked to help.
Training through Karkidakam, the monsoon month
Why the wettest weeks of the year have always been the season of training and oil in the kalari, and what changes in our batches.
In the Malayalam calendar, Karkidakam is the month from mid-July to mid-August, when the monsoon is at its heaviest. For most of Kerala it is a quiet month of rain, ramayana reading and simple food. In the kalari tradition, it has always been the main training season, when farm work stops and students have time to practise.
Our kuzhi kalari is at its best in this weather. The sunken mud floor stays cool and slightly soft, and the earth walls keep out the wind and the slanting rain. Training continues in all batches through the month. The morning batch is often the most crowded of the year, because students who travel in other seasons are home.
Karkidakam is also traditionally the month for uzhichil, the oil massage given by the gurukkal or senior students as part of kalari training. In our kalari, students who have trained for at least a year may join a two-week course of evening sessions, where warm herbal oil is applied and the body is worked through slowly before practice. This is part of the training tradition, not a medical treatment, and anyone with an injury or health condition should consult their own doctor before taking part.
The monsoon brings practical changes too. We keep the floor dry by covering it overnight, so classes start ten minutes later on very wet mornings. Bring a change of clothes and a small towel, leave wet umbrellas at the steps, and expect your feet to come home muddier than usual.
