Kalaripayattu exponent Arifa Kodiyil on learning and teaching the ancient martial art form of Kerala

Arifa Kodiyil, a four-time State champion, believes every woman should learn Kalaripayattu to defend herself

Arifa Kodiyil is unfazed by raised eyebrows when people see her wearing a hijab and wielding an urumi (coiled sword). Twenty years ago, at the age of six she became the centre of attraction on being the only female participating in a competition for Kalaripayattu practitioners. For this modern-day Arackal Ayesha, a legendary Kalaripayyattu warrior, the martial art was a continuation of the family tradition. “My father, Haneef Gurukkal, was taught by his father, Hamsathali Gurukkal. In Malabar, where we hail from, there were a few families like ours, trained in the martial art of kalari,” she says.