By Venkat Ramakrishnan | Project Leader
Dear Patrons,
Arts activity is an integral part of Isha Vidhya education.
Silambam (Si-lam-bam), is an ancient martial art from southern Indian state of Tamilnadu. It is closely related to Kerala’s KalariPayittu and Sri Lankan Angampora. It derives from the Tamil word silam meaning "hill" and the Kannada word bambu from which the English "bamboo" originates. The term silambambu referred to a particular type of bamboo from the Kurinji hills in present-day Kerala. Thus Silambam means the bamboo staff.
The divisional level Silambam competition, organized by Maaya Silambam Foundation and recognized by Tamilnadu Silambam Martial and Cultural Arts Association, was held in Salem city, Tamilnadu. 26 teams from 6 districts participated in the competition.
We are glad to share that Isha Vidhya students won the 1st prize in Divisional level Silambam competition!
Five Isha Vidhya Dharmapuri school students and one from Vanavasi school participated in this event. The competition was conducted for two days and included various aspects of Silambam. Isha Vidhya students participated in the ribbon rotation and the fire ball event. Even though our students had not undergone rigorous training, they received valuable tips from Dharmapuri School's PET teacher who is an official Silambam referee.
The students received certificates and a trophy for the team.
Sharing from the participant student from Salem school:
"One day I went to a temple festival. I saw the children participating in Silambam. I got interested in learning Silambam. So I asked my father to put me in Silambam class. I started my training at Jai Aanjaneya Silambam group in Mecheri. I go to this class twice a week. I have been practicing for an year and a half now.
I am practicing it every day at my home. 26 members are there in our training group. We attended the Zonal level Silambam competition at NRP school in Salem. We worked a lot so that we got first prize. I was so happy when we got the first prize. Now I am getting so much of interest to participate in the future competitions!..."
Sharing by a student participant from Dharmapuri school:
"At first, I didn’t know how to rotate the Silambam stick. Our Physical Education Teacher gave training during the first week Silambam practice at the school. I practiced daily and learnt how to rotate the stick. We stayed 2 days in the Salem N.P.R. Matriculation Higher Secondary School, where the competition was held. Children from many other schools also participated. We were all in anxiety on how we are going to perform. But we were high on our team spirit and our daily practice yielded the good result to us. We won the first place in the competition!..."
We can't put in words on how much happy we are about Isha Vidhya student's performance at the competition!
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