Girl power: How a Telangana collector is making girls fighting fit

In the backdrop of growing incidents of crime against women, a female district collector in Telangana, Sri Devasena has embarked on a unique initiative to impart training in Kalaripayattu, an ancient martial art form, for school and college girls and Anganwadi workers.

Kalaripayattu trainers from Kerala have been roped in to provide training to thousands of young women across Peddapalli district.

“It also involves yoga and meditation that make for a complete balance of body and mind,” the district collector Sri Devasena says.

Kalaripayyatu, which originated in Kerala in the third century BC, is more of a defence-based form of martial arts, unlike karate and kung fu, which focus on aggression.

At present, nearly 12,500 school girls, 1,500 college girls and 500 Anganwadi workers are being given training for 45 days.

“By the end of 45 days of training, they would have achieved some stability in the martial art form. They will return for a second round of training in May after their exams. Besides, the Kalaripayyatu trainers from Kerala are also imparting training to Physical Education Teachers (PETs) in schools, who will ensure continuity in training in future. The gurus from Kerala are willing to come again since the idea is to institutionalise the martial art form,” the official said.

Devasena, who took charge of the district last year, has earned laurels because of several innovative ideas she has been implementing in the region. She received the ‘Telangana Excellence Award’ in 2017, instituted by the state government to recognise significant contributions by officials in improving the administration.

Also read: This Collector in Telangana is making waves with his unique war on plastic

‘Shakti’ to instill confidence

“I was moved by the plight of a rape victim who was a little girl when she suffered the trauma. Being the mother of a girl child, I understand the trauma. This incident prompted me to do my bit to make the girl children strong. I launched a self-defence programme for all girl students,” Devasena recalled.

Christened as ‘Shakti’, the programme covers girl students from all government schools and junior colleges in the district. They are being trained in self-defence techniques and martial arts on a continuous basis.

The collector also organised a mass presentation of martial arts display called the ‘Sanghatitha Sabala’ on a single platform, where 13,600 girl students participated recently.

“This is not a one-off kind of token exercise but a continuous programme incorporated as part of the activities in schools and junior colleges. The PETs have been given training in Kalaripayyatu so that they can in turn train the students,” the official said.

In a related initiative called ‘Spruha’ (awareness), the menfolk are being taught about good behaviour and social problems including atrocities against women and alcoholism.

Also read: Andhra Pradesh clears ‘Disha’ bill to hasten cases of atrocities against women

Why Kalaripayattu?

“For one, Kalaripayattu is the mother of all martial art forms that exist now. It is best suited for girls and women considering the present-day problems. It is more a self-defence form of martial arts unlike others like karate and kung fu which focus on aggression,” the Collector says.

Devasena had earlier introduced a similar programme in Jangaon district where 15,000 school girls were taught karate for self-defence when she was the collector.

She cites the example of renowned Kalaripayyatu proponent, Meenakshi Ammal for her shift to Kalaripayyatu in Peddapalli. “Meenakshi Ammal learnt Kalaripayattu after her marriage and continues to practice and teach the martial art form even now at the age of 78. I realised that Kalaripayyatu suits women of any age group, and also helps them in many ways. There is also a spiritual dimension to it and gives a holistic experience,” she said.

Also read: Women’s helpline is helpless in Tamil Nadu, and has few takers

On ‘Spruha’, the official said that it was essentially an awareness programme to sensitise men towards the problems and atrocities being faced by women. “We speak to men in groups about gender issues, violence against women and alcoholism,” she said.

“We are trying to bring about change in multiple ways,” she said.

The problems that girls from rural backgrounds face in their day-to-day lives are quite different from what their urban counterparts encounter. “In fact, they face a lot more problems than the girls in urban areas but these things go unreported. Unfortunately, rural atrocities do not make media headlines,” the collector says.

Another initiative that has won the appreciation of the government is ‘Vijayosthu’, a programme launched last year for students who failed in the 10th Board exams.

“We identified the girl students who had failed, gave them special coaching and worked on their psyche to restore their confidence levels, and it gave excellent results. Almost all of them cleared the supplementary exams. All it needed was an exclusive intervention that suited them,” Devasena said.