Look Back: Beyond the Blades

2023-01-01

Defiant and determined to create a unique lifestyle of equality and independence for herself, Siddha neglects and defies her parents' desire to marry her off to a man she doesn't love. She plans eloping with her lover, Krishna. Instead of loving her in return, Krishna treats her badly by cheating on her. Broken and depressed, Siddha runs away to an isolated road with no houses but bushes. While running, she becomes tired. She falls and faints. She is saved by a hopeless and dejected man named Raju, an expert at Marma and Ayurveda bone setting. Raju takes her to his farmhouse; he nurtures her back to life. A few days after recovery, while playing in an old, abandoned mediation place, Siddha finds an old Urumi sword. She falls in love with the sword, believing it's her chance to revenge her boyfriend Krishna for breaking her heart. She takes the sword home to Raju, imploring him to teach her how to use it. Raju declines her plea. He tells her the Urumi is his past he is running away from. But Siddha won't give up; she is bent on learning the Urumi. After a couple of pleas from Siddha, Raju agrees to teach her the Urumi. But he gives her one condition: He will teach her in a traditional setup. Siddha agrees and they build a new Kalari six feet below the ground. Raju teaches her animals' tactics, meditation and strengthening exercises. But Siddha is never willing to learn the basic. Three months later, she becomes angry for not learning the Urumi. While arguing, Raju tells her that she believes the learning of Kalari is a matter of practice and hard work. But in reality, learning Kalari is a way of meditation, it is a way to test her patience and kill her grievous ego; that she needs to fight and defeat her grievous ego before she can learn the Urumi weapon. Siddha agrees to be patient and learn, putting her best in the basic and animals' tactics. After several months of training, Siddha becomes an expert at Kalaripayattu. Also, she becomes an adept user of the Urumi. Though she thinks her training is completed, there is one last simple but complex training left for the final test of the student.