Playground stunts

Originally published in Himal Southasian, September '09

Schools in Tamil Nadu have been asked to refrain from hosting ‘risky’ stunts – for instance, hiring a martial arts trainer to drive a motorbike over the hands of prostrated schoolchildren, as happened at a school in Villupuram on 15 July. The show culminated in the same bike riding over a plank placed on top of a small girl, to wild applause from delighted parents.

But the fun was curbed by protests from a relative of the state Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy. Apparently, pushy parents had pressured the school into staging the show to mark the centenary of K Kamaraj, the father of modern education in Tamil Nadu. They assured the principal that their children had been adequately trained in such ‘martial arts’, and remained supportive throughout the event – because, after all, the children ‘offered to lie down on their own’. Such displays are allegedly common, and usually prompted by parents eager to show off their children's prowess. In the small furore that followed, Tamil Nadu's elementary school department head, K Devarajan, announced that it would send notices to all of the state’s 50,000 schools, instructing them to ban any ‘risky stunts and practices’.

Martial arts are a popular pastime among India schoolchildren, and many schools hold special classes. By no means a far-eastern import, India has a long and venerable tradition of martial arts. Varying wildly according to region – and roughly divisible between Northern and Southern systems – its diverse strands are collectively referred to in Sanskrit as dhanurveda. There is much overlap with the principles behind yoga, ayurveda and tantra, such as kundalini (coiled energy) and marmam (pressure points). Tamil Nadu is home to the Dravidian schools of Kuttu Varisai (empty hand combat) and Varma Kalai (the art of vital points). And the hallowed place of martial arts in Tamil culture is visible in many ancient temples, bearing statues of deities and warriors in gravity-defying combat postures.

However, India schoolchildren these days are more likely to try to emulate Hong Kong screen heroes like Jet Li and Jackie Chan, whose movies enjoy a cult following among Indian youth; and it is doubtful whether driving a motorized vehicle over the palms of young children is in the true spirit of dhanurveda. Nonetheless, martial arts demonstrations are an integral part of a school’s entertainment calendar, especially at ‘felicitation events where local celebrities are honoured – although in this case it was called short by the chief guests: relatives of the higher education minister.