A bride's preparation for her wedding day is no small feat. Hours are spent on hair and make-up. The drape of the sari must be just right, and all that before she is bedecked with garlands of flowers and family jewellery. But for 22-year-old Nisha, her mind wasn't just on taking her vows toward marital union, but showing a skill that she finds invaluable for young girls — all while keeping her sari in place.
On her wedding day, it was a gathering like none other. Shortly after the marriage ceremony ended, all the guests gathered around 22-year-old Nisha, forming a perfect circle. In the middle was Nisha, skillfully wielding her whip-like soft sword. Her guests looked on in wonder as Nisha performed the traditional martial arts — ‘Surul Vaal Veechu’, ‘Rettai Kambu’ and ‘Adimarai’ — on the road in front of her wedding hall in Thirukolur village in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi.
Speaking to the Times of India, Nisha said that her performance was aimed at creating awareness on self-defence for women. The newspaper reports that she received her training from her husband, who is also her maternal uncle, 29-year-old Rajkumar Moses. Nisha told TOI that her coach Mariappan, who trained her in the martial art forms, encouraged her to focus on her skill. Her mother Mani motivated her to keep practising, and now she even trains students, some of whom also performed on her wedding day.
Nisha is a BCom graduate and wishes to become a police officer. She is trained in multiple martial art forms like ‘kalaripayattu’ and ‘theepantham’ as well. She began her training three years ago, and shortly mastered them all. Nisha had won the first prize in a Silambam competition in 2020 and came third in the state-level competition in Tiruppur.
Rajkumar Moses, her husband, who is also a farmer, said that he wanted her to perform martial arts during their wedding to create awareness among girls to be more involved in the self-defence form. The couple is happy that Nisha's stunts have gone viral on social media.
Watch Nisha’s enthralling performance below:
Tamilnadu Bride performance Martial Arts, stuns crowd with 'Surul Vaal' (Flexible sword) and Silambam to promote traditional Martials Arts. pic.twitter.com/6VHLiQTI2d
— Pramod Madhav (@PramodMadhav6) July 1, 2021
(With agency inputs)