Meenakshi Amma, practitioner and teacher of 'Kalaripayattu', has been a driving force in the revival of India's oldest martial art and in encouraging girls to take it up
Meenakshi Amma, practitioner and teacher of 'Kalaripayattu', a traditional martial art originated in Kerala, posing for pictures at her family-run Kadathanadan Kalari Sangam school in Vatakara in the Kozhikode district of the state of Kerala
Image: Manjunath Kiran / AFP
Deftly parrying her son with a bamboo cane, Meenakshi Amma belies her 78 years with her prowess at kalari, thought to be India's oldest martial art.
The great-grandmother in Kerala, southern India, has been a driving force in the revival of kalaripayattu, as the ancient practice is also known, and in encouraging girls to take it up.