Swearing by Silambam

It was at the age of 10 that Sankaran’s fascination with silambam led him to learning the craft from his father, Thirumalai Asan.
It was at the age of 10 that Sankaran’s fascination with silambam led him to learning the craft from his father, Thirumalai Asan. (Photo| EPS/V.KARTHIKALAGU)
It was at the age of 10 that Sankaran’s fascination with silambam led him to learning the craft from his father, Thirumalai Asan. (Photo| EPS/V.KARTHIKALAGU)

CHENNAI: If hundreds of students in Tirunelveli are now able to learn the art of silambam from Sankaran Asan, they have many a guru to thank, but it would be his father who tops the list.

It was at the age of 10 that Sankaran’s fascination with silambam led him to learning the craft from his father, Thirumalai Asan.

PHOTOs: V.KARTHIKALAGU
PHOTOs: V.KARTHIKALAGU

Eight years later, he sought the wisdom of Latchmanan Pandiyan to go beyond the confines of pose, posture and particulars. Then, there was simply no stopping him.

Yearning to learn more and more, Sankaran went to Maira Michael, a friend in Kerala, to also master the art of kalari and varmam — this journey lasted for 16 long years.

Blessed with all this knowledge, Sankaran chose to do what his gurus had done with him — pass it on. The social activist has, so far, trained over a thousand students in silambam and is proud of having nurtured as many as 40 national players.

For every child in need, he not only holds the classes for free but also sends them along to tournaments on his means. He continues to conduct silambam classes from 6 am to 8 am every day. He also runs a Siddha medical centre in Thachanallur.

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