A great-grandmother keeps an Indian martial art alive

Meenakshi Amma, 78, has been a driving force in the revival of kalaripayattu in India.

Deftly parrying her son with a bamboo cane, Meenakshi Amma’s prowess at Kalari – thought to be India’s oldest martial art – belies her 78 years.

The great-grandmother in Kerala, southern India, has been a driving force in the revival of Kalarippayattu – as the ancient practice is also known – and in encouraging girls to take it up.

“I started Kalari when I was seven. I am still practising, learning and teaching,” said the matriarch of the Kadathanad Kalari Sangham school, founded by her late husband in 1949.