TULU RESEARCH INSTITUTE

MY RESEARCH INTO LOST CIVILIZATION OF TULU

Any one who practices the art of Mallar Kambam using pillar made of wood has to go through these steps from one to ten in the initial stages which forms climbing up the Pillar. All of them are ordinary steps.

Step 1: Involves interlocking your right hand from front portion of both the body and pillar so that they are inter winded. Easy to practice.

Step 2: Being in the interlocked position one should give sufficient amount of push so that he/she can lift their body to a postion as shown in fig. 2.

Step 3: Involves interlocking your legs from being in position 2 and then twisting his body to a 180 degree turn so that his face looks to the ground with his hand stretched away from the body in a straight line horizontally.

Step 4: With hands held in the same position one should achieve a 90 degree turn by twisting his body with the help of muscles.

Step 5: Again a 90 degree turn is achieved with right leg in the same position but the left leg now is inter locked with the front side of the pillar and both of the hands is inter winded with the pillar.

Step 6: The Inter locked position of the left leg with the pillar is removed and brought parallel with the right leg and the sufficient push is given by by the hip position of the body in order to move the legs in a upward way as shown in the figure. Both the hands are inter locked with pillar.

Step 7: The inter locked position of the hands with the pillar is removed and then pushes his hip portion towards the pillars by achieving a 180 degree turn of his body and then interlocks both his legs with the pillars with both of his hands stretched away from the body.

Step 8: Body is twisted to angle of 180 degree and then the interlock position is removed with the left leg having a hold on the pillar and the hands still stretched away from the body.

Step 9: Inter lock position of the left leg of the body is now removed and then a push is given by the hip portion of the body with the inter lock to the pillar given by both the hands with his right leg bend at an angle of forty five degree.

Step 10: With the interlock position of both the hands held to the pillar, one tries to remove his left leg out of the pillar and gives a push through the hip part of the body to raise both the legs to a V shape.

Step 11: Giving a push from his hip portion of the body and then achieving a 180 degree turn he interlocks his legs with the pillar.

Step 12 to Step 21: Twisting the body to varying degrees like a snake and climbing to the top of the pillar – Naga mudiVel. Seems to be king of all steps as the name Vel indicates, simply because climbing like a snake in a pillar is not a easy job even for a snake, but this done by a human being must be very difficult. Like the snake form of dance in the devadasi form of dance, this is a notable form in this type of sport Mallar Kambam.

Step 21 to Step 25: Bringing the body to the full stretched standing position keeping left leg as a grip in the pillar and interlocking with the right leg at the neck of pillar - this position is also to show that he is not yet tired.

Step 26 to Step 27: From the stretched body position he tries to bring his body towards the pole with his hands stretched and his legs interlocked with the pillar.

Step 28 to Step 31: From the interlocked position he grips the bottom of the pillar with the left hand and the top of the pillar with the right hand by bringing his body to the upside down position.

Step 31 to Step 40: Twisting and turning the body by keeping his chest facing towards the pole in all the positions and bringing the body to the upright position by interlocking both his hands with top portion of the pillar.

Step 41 to Step 43: Bringing the body to the Veerabadrasana position i.e., making the body to stand on the top of the pillar in a stretched position upon balancing the hold to pillar by placing his left leg on the top of the pillar.

Step 44 to Step 48: Bringing the body to the interlocked position at the neck point of the pillar but only with one leg some thing which is very unique in this art.

Step 49 to Step 51: Bringing down the body from the pillar to the landing position.

PRACTISING ASANAS IN HANGING MALLAR KAMBAM

Here the Pillar is hanged from a rope of length 15 ft in height from a Pole made up of Wood. Spinal cord of the body is in contact with the pillar in most of the steps in this type of Hanging Mallar Kambam. Step 1 to Step 4: Demonstrates how to climb up the pillar in the Hanging Mallar kambam.

Step 5 to Step 14: Pathu Chutru – Here the player tries to twist and turn the body by keeping his spinal cord always in contact with the pillar.

Veagama Vil Ambu Eithuthal:

Here the player climbs to the top of the Hanging Pillar and then interlock with the pillar using his thighs in the the sitting posture. By keeping his chest towards the pillar, the player catches his left leg with the right hand and his right leg with the left hand thereby providing a grip with the pillar too. This will give a look as if the player is ready to throw an arrow with a bow.

Step 17 to Step 22: Player Climbs up the pillar by completing a 360 degree turn and interlocks both his legs with the hanging pillar with his chest and both his hands stretched away from the body.

Step 23 to Step 28: Here the player tries to bring both the legs to a L shape and then griping the pillar with the thighs.

Koorma Asana: Here the player tries to bring the body to the postures of tortoise. With the grip provided by the thigh with the pillar keeping his chest facing downwards he grips to thumb of the left leg with the right hand and vice versa and then pushing his chest upward thereby providing the necessary force to pull up his body portion up to the face in a upward direction. Having a look at this it be seen as a tortoise looking out of its living unit out of the beach sand.

Step 31 to Step 34: Player brings the body to a boat shape – Padaku Asana

Step 35 to Step 36: Bringing the body and hands to a stretched position with face towards the ground by griping the pillar with the thighs.

Step 37 to Step 40: Griping the neck of the pillar with both the palms of the hand as a constant step the player twists the body to a 360 degree with the movements provided by the both the legs also.

Step 41 to Step 47: With both the hands providing grip with the pillar the grip is brought to the pillar with the thigh portion and keeping this as a constant with the spinal cord fixed with the pillar the player twists his body to a 360° turn and then the body is brought downwards with both the hands in a stretched position.

PERFORMING WITH ROPES:

Uniqueness of this type of art is most of them are performed by young girls and ladies – amazingly in this rope technique there is no grip by the rope unlike the pillar type, so very difficult to perform. Girls provide them the grip they wanted by their hands and legs.

Step 5 to Step 10: Twisting and turning the body to 360° by griping the rope with both the hands and the legs. Step 11 to Step 16: Climbing up the rope.

Step 17 to Step 20: Twisting and turning the body to 360° by griping the rope with both the hands and with the fingers in legs.

Step 05 to Step 24: Twisting and turning the body to 360° up to four times by griping the rope with both the hands and the legs.

Step 25: Climbing up the rope by providing the grip with left leg and hand Step 26: Griping the rope with both the hands and then encircling the rope with the help of that leg itself and griping the rope with the fingers of same leg. Step 27: Hanging the body upside down with the lock provided as said above. Step 28: Inverted Natraja Asana. Performing the Devadasi’s Natraja step of Dance by hanging upside down from rope with lock provided by left leg.

Step 29 to Step 36: Inverted Veera Badrasana Posture – With the lock provided by the fingers of the encircled leg and the left leg itself, the performer tries to bring the body to a upside down position of the Veera Badrasana when compared to the Pillar type of this art.

Step 36 to Step 41: Sava Asana: With the lock remaining encircle the body with the rope once and griping the rope by both the hands, the rope is brought to a hanging position and the right leg too is encircled with the rope. Now the performer hangs the body above the ground in a horizontal position, the grip provided by encircled rope.

Step 42: Vrischika Asana: With the hanging position of the body, she bends her body itself to a circle and then grips her respective hands and legs.

Step 43 to Step 49: The encircling with the right leg is removed and the leg bend and then again encircled with the rope after bringing the leg to a horizontal position, now with the right hand hanging down. Legs are brought to a 90° position with the body and both the hands hanging upside down in a vertical way. Then she tries to climb the rope, provided by the force of the hip with both her hands set free and stands vertically like a cross.

Step 50 to Step 51: From this cross position, again the legs are brought to a L position with the body and both the hands hanging vertically in a upside down position

Step 52 to Step 55: Padmasana: Again she tries to climb up the rope by griping the hand with both the hands and then the right hand is set free and kept in a horizontal position, with the left hand griping the rope. Now the left knee of the leg is bend and then the right knee of the leg is also bend to bring the body to a sitting posture, the hand stretched with Chin mudra, as in meditating posture.

Step 56 to Step 59: Paadam Thangudal Asana: From the sitting posture she brings her body to a standing posture and then twists her body around the rope. Now she bends her body in a forward direction and holds her feet of both legs with the respective hands.

Step 60 to Step 65: Mandhi Pidi: Hands and legs griped are removed, she bends her body in a anticlock wise direction, with the push provided by the hip portion of the body, and then completely brings her body and both her hands in a upside down hanging position, the rope encircling the body and her right leg with the left leg set free in a horizontal position as shown.

Step 66: Guru Pidi - With the only grip provided by her bend knees the whole body including both her hands is hanged in a upside down position.

Step 67 to Step 68: Attai Pidi - She turns her body to a horizontal position. Now she grips both her hands with the rope and then removes the previous grip provided by the knees. By hanging herself with the rope she stretches her full body in a horizontal position.

Step 69 to Step 75: Mayil Iranguthal - Jumps to the ground by twisting her body to a 180 degree turn horizontally initially and then another 180 degree turn vertically.

It seems the whole of art of Gymnastics have had its origin from these types of Schools. Now the art of Gymnastics can be traced back to at the least to 7,000 years B.P.