One of the best known forms of ancient Indian martial arts is the Kalarippayattu from Kerala. This ancient fighting style originated in southern India in 12th century BC and is regarded as one of the oldest surviving martial arts.[74] In this form martial arts, various stages of physical training include ayurvedic massage with sesame oil to impart suppleness to the body (uzichil); a series of sharp body movements so as to gain control over various parts of the body (miapayattu); and, complex sword fighting techniques (paliyankam).[75]Silambam, which was developed around 200 AD, traces its roots to the Sangam period in southern India.[76] Silambam is unique among Indian martial arts because it uses complex footwork techniques (kaaladi), including a variety of spinning styles. A bamboo staff is used as the main weapon.[76] The ancient Tamil Sangam literature mentions that between 400 BC and 600 AD, soldiers from southern India received special martial arts training which revolved primarily around the use of spear (vel), sword (val) and shield (kedaham).[77]
In northern India, the musti yuddha evolved in 1100 AD and focussed on mental, physical and spiritual training.[78] In addition, the Dhanur Veda tradition was an influential fighting arts style which considered the bow and the arrow to be the supreme weapons. The Dhanur Veda was first described in the 5th century BC Viṣṇu Purāṇa[74] and is also mentioned in both of the major ancient Indian epics, the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata. A distinctive factor of Indian martial arts is the heavy emphasis laid on meditation (dhyāna) as a tool to remove fear, doubt and anxiety.[79]
Indian martial arts techniques have had a profound impact on other martial arts styles across Asia. The 3rd century BC Yoga Sutras of Patanjali taught how to meditate single-mindedly on points located inside one's body, which was later used in martial arts, while various mudra finger movements were taught in Yogacarayoga, as well as finger movements in the Buddhism. These elements of nata dances, were later incorporated into various martial arts.[80] According to some historical accounts, Indian Buddhist monk Bodhidharma was one of the main founders of the Shaolin Kungfu.[81]
[edit] Popular media
[edit] Television
Main article: Television in India
See also: List of Indian television stations
Indian television started off in 1959 in New Delhi with tests for educational telecasts.[82] Indian small screen programming started off in the mid 1970s. At that time there was only one national channel Doordarshan, which was government owned. 1982 saw revolution in TV programming in India, with the New Delhi Asian games, India saw the colour version of TV, that year. The Ramayana and Mahabharat were some among the popular television series produced. By the late 1980s more and more people started to own television sets. Though there was a single channel, television programming had reached saturation. Hence the government opened up another channel which had part national programming and part regional. This channel was known as DD 2 later DD Metro. Both channels were broadcasted terrestrially.
In 1991, the government liberated its markets, opening them up to cable television. Since then, there has been a spurt in the number of channels available. Today, Indian silver screen is a huge industry by itself, and has thousands of programmes in all the states of India. The small screen has produced numerous celebrities of their own kind some even attaining national fame for themselves. TV soaps are extremely popular with housewives as well as working women, and even men of all kinds. Some lesser known actors have found success in Bollywood. Indian TV now has many of the same channels as Western TV, including stations such as Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, HBO, FX, and MTV India.
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