{{Short description|Traditional training space used for Kalaripayattu}} {{other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Use Indian English|date=January 2021}}

A '''kalari''' ({{ipa|ml|kɐɭɐɾi|lang}}) is a gymnasium or training space primarily associated with the martial art of Kalaripayattu. The word ''kalari'' comes from Malayalam. In the past, village schools in kerala, typically run by the traditional astrologer families, were known as ''kalari''. Later schools for teaching language and grammar were known as Ezhuthu Kalari.<ref name=" A.Ayyappan Page26">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mbkiAAAAMAAJ |last=Ayyappan | first=A | title=Social revolution in a Kerala village: a study in culture change |pages=26–27 |publisher=Asia publication house |location=New Delhi |year=1965}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Bulletin of Madras Government Museum: New series, general section, Volume 5, Issue 1 |publisher=Director of Stationery and Printing (1929) |page=28}}</ref>

==Kalari teachers== The teacher of a kalari is called a Gurukkal or Asan. Teachers of Ezhuthu Kalari or Ezhuthu Palli<ref name="Anupama Mohan Page142">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=y_h6vX0i7rsC |first=Anupama | last=Mohan | title=Utopia and the Village in South Asian Literatures |pages=142|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan. |location=New Delhi |year=2012|isbn=9781137031891 }}</ref> are referred to as Asan or ''Ezhuthassan''.<ref>L. Krishna Anantha Krishna Iyer (Diwan Bahadur); The Cochin tribes and castes; 1909</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rIZHDwAAQBAJ&dq=silgos(chegos)+usually+serve+to+teach+nayros&pg=RA1-PA8|isbn=9781351441070|title=Hendrik Adriaan van Reed Tot Drakestein 1636-1691 and Hortus, Malabaricus|date=22 November 2017|publisher=Routledge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/LettersFromMalabar/Letters+from+Malabar_djvu.txt|title=Letters from Malabar|year=1862}}</ref>

==Construction of a kalari==

Traditionally, the kalari is constructed by digging a hollow in the ground, forming a sunken area four feet in depth, forty-two feet in length and twenty-one feet in breadth. This is usually called ''kuzhikalari''. Kuzhi means "portions formed by caving in the earth" in Malayalam. The entrance to the Kalari is in the east, to let in the morning sunlight, and leads into the 42-foot leg running east–west while the 21-foot leg runs north–south. Another consideration taken when constructing the kalari is that it is built in the south-west side of the main plot. The floor of the kalari is leveled using mud. In southern and central Kerala, some kalaris were constructed in a circular form, with weapons and other instruments being placed on one end, and students sitting outside the circular arc to watch the training.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

==''Ankakalari'' and ''ankathattu''==

Ankathattu is a 4 to 6 foot high platform constructed temporarily for the purpose of fighting duels. ''Ankam'' means war in Malayalam. This platform is constructed as per tradition and is in the center of the ground from where people can watch the fight. The entire arrangement is called a''nkakalar''. Historically, in Kerala, quarrels between local rulers were resolved by fixing an ''ankam'', a duel to the death, between two ''ankachekavar''s, each ruler being represented by one ''ankachekavar''. The ruler represented by the surviving ''ankachekavar'' was considered the winner.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{Indian Martial Arts}}

Category:Kalarippayattu Category:Hindu temple architecture