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WAYANAD, Kerala: Every year Vani Uma Krishnan looks forward to the Vijayadashami festival to publicly demonstrate her fighting, weapon, and self-defense skills — all polished through the rigorous practice of kalaripayattu, one of the world’s oldest martial arts.

Kalaripayattu, often called kalari, is believed to have originated around the third century B.C. on India’s southwest coast, in what is now the state of Kerala. It is a complete combat system with physical and spiritual training.

The practice combines strikes, kicks, grappling, preset forms, weaponry, healing methods, and meditation. Unlike in many other martial arts, students first learn weapon-based techniques before barehanded fighting. They train fluid movements inspired by animal postures, and also meditation.

Like most children in Kerala, Vani, now 14, has been practicing kalari from a very young age.

“I first fell in love with kalari when I was 7 years old. I have seen all these videos of people flying and being able to be so agile and block any offense … That was the closest thing to being a superhero for me,” she told Arab News.

One of the most famous collections of medieval warrior ballads in Malayalam, the native language of Kerala, is “Vadakkan Pattukal,” which presents stories of heroes and heroines who are adept in fighting and in the use of arms.

“We grew up listening to all those stories, and we have always wished that we could also be like them in a modern world. And kalari is a way for us to also express ourselves,” Vani said.

“Kalari has given me a sense of self-worth. I know my worth, and if I ever have to face anyone, I can surely stand in front of them.”

Dressed in traditional red and black fighting gear, she was attending training at Kadathanadan Kalari Sangam, her martial arts school in Wayanad, to celebrate Vijayadashami.

In Kerala, the autumn Hindu festival marking the victory of good over evil is also a day to seek blessings for learning and wisdom.

For Vani’s father, Rajesh Krishnan, who also practiced kalari as a child, enrolling her in classes was a most natural thing to do.

“Kalari is a part and parcel of our culture … thankfully, she likes it. She has a drive for it, so we keep supporting her,” he said.

“(Kalari) brings the body and soul together, and it makes a better person out of you — physically, psychologically.”

It also embodies resilience. Banned in the 19th century by British colonial rulers who feared armed revolt, the martial art fell into decline and only began to experience a resurgence in the late 20th century.

“Apart from a few other martial arts across India, you don’t see much of martial traditions being continued,” Krishnan said. “Kalari, I think, has survived the challenges of time and has maintained its vigor, vitality, and diversity. So, it’s quite natural that people are attracted to it. It is considered the mother of martial arts.”

It entered the spotlight in 2017 when Meenakshi Raghavan, the octogenarian kalari grandmaster, who is the eldest woman in the world to practice and teach the martial art, was awarded the Padma Shri.

For young Keralites, and increasingly also Indians from other states, kalari is becoming a lifestyle.

“The main purpose is self-defense. Other than that, this helps to lead a peaceful life. If we learn this type of martial arts, we won’t go to drugs or any alcohol like that. We’ll be safe from that,” said Pranav K. Thomas, a 19-year-old college student practicing at the Wayanad school.

Komal Parikh, a 28-year-old from Assam, who traveled over 3,000 km to learn at the school, hoped it could help “navigate through the challenges of life” and build confidence.

“We don’t have to rely on someone else for our own protection or well-being,” he said.

Thomas Gurukkal, the chief master trainer at Kadathanadan Kalari Sangam, believes that what draws young people is also the therapeutic aspect of the practice.

Having taught kalari fighting and meditation techniques for over 20 years, he has had many students who joined the school as they dealt with episodes of depression.

He has seen them make an improvement, regain focus and concentration, also thanks to kalari’s unique use of traditional weapons.

“It has a wide range of weapons, more than any other martial art. Moreover, some of these weapons are from a very ancient era. When people practice with these, they get a certain physical strength, integrity and flexibility,” he said.

“Many youngsters are attracted to it because it gives you an extraordinary amount of focus and concentration. It also gives you self-confidence to face anything that life may throw at you.”

SHENGIN, Albania: One year after Italy opened migrant camps in Albania intended to hold people intercepted at sea, the legally contested centers lie almost empty.
Numerous NGOs have criticized living conditions inside the camps, and Italian courts have struck down several attempted deportations to Albania.
But as the European Union discusses the possibility of creating its own “return hubs,” Italy’s far-right government appears committed to sending migrants to offshore detention centers in Albania.

- ‘Very concerning’ -

On October 16, 2024, two detention centers opened in the port of Shengjin and the village of Gjader, located in northern Albania but managed by Rome.
That same day, dozens of cameras filmed the arrival of the first Italian naval ship carrying 16 men from Egypt and Bangladesh, arrested at sea as they tried to reach the EU.
Their identities were first verified at the port. Then they were sent to the Gjader camp, where they could wait for an asylum claim to be processed if they lodged one.
But very quickly, four of the men were identified as “vulnerable” and sent back to Italy.
Within two days, the remaining 12 men would be sent back too, after an Italian court ruled against their detention.
The court cited disagreements over the list of “safe” origin countries created by the Italian government, which included nations that do not meet European legal criteria.
A year later, Italian judges have repeatedly rejected deportations, slowing plans to place up to 3,000 migrants in the camp.
According to legal expert Gianfranco Schiavone, a report by Italian NGOs found that in all, 132 people were sent to the Albanian centers.
Of them, only 32 have been repatriated, although details on how many were returned to Italy or sent to another country are unclear.
It is also hard to obtain official confirmation about the program details and camp conditions — the Albanian authorities referred AFP’s query to the Italians, who did not answer specific questions about the scheme.
“The situation is very concerning due to the extreme difficulty for detainees to exercise their fundamental rights in general,” Schiavone said.
According to a report by a group of NGOs, at least nine people have attempted suicide while being held in the camps, and there have been 21 cases of self-mutilation.

- ‘The Italian experiment’ -

Amid ongoing legal battles, Italy plans to use the camps as detention facilities for people awaiting deportation after already being deemed to be “illegal” migrants by Italian authorities.
This repurposing will also likely be blocked by European courts, Schiavone said.
“There is no provision for the administrative detention of foreigners awaiting expulsion in Italy to be carried out in a non-EU country.”
But this could change in a few months if the “return regulation,” currently under debate in the European Parliament, is adopted: the framework would open the way to the creation of migrant centers outside the EU’s borders.
Since her election in 2022, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made fighting irregular immigration a key policy of her government.
The legalization of Meloni’s experiment would represent a significant political win for her far-right Fratelli d’Italia (FDI) party.
But Filippo Furri from the Italian NGO ARCI said that he hopes the EU reconsiders this approach and instead deems it “illegal or economically unsustainable.”
Meanwhile, the risk for people migrating is that “this Italian experiment spreads to other countries,” he said.
During a visit to Albania in May, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his desire to create “return hubs.”
But his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama was reluctant to open another program in his country and said the Italian model “takes time to test.”
“If it works, it can be replicated. But not in Albania, elsewhere in the region,” Rama said.