Where there is a will, there is a way. This adage seems to have found resonance in a seven-year-old girl, in overcoming a physical disability and winning accolades in the ancient Tamil martial artform of Silambam.
Yashika, daughter of R. Veeraraghavan and Gomathi of Marakkanam, was born with three fingers on both her hands. Despite her physical condition, the girl battled all odds to excel at Silambam.
“Initially, Yashika faced difficulty in even holding small objects. She underwent an operation on her right hand when she was two years old to improve mobility, but it did not help. We felt that Yashika would be able to use her hands only when she gained strength in her fingers. So we decided to get her training in the artform of Silambam to increase hand movement,” says Mr. Veeraraghavan.
The family lived close to a Silambam training school and they approached P. Sathish Kumar, its martial arts teacher, for help. On seeing Yashika’s hands, Mr. Kumar asked her to join training at the age of five.
“Yashika underwent training for two years, learning the moves and improving her skill. The art involves one-on-one combat and the moves were further elaborated during training,” says Mr. Kumar.
With hard work and determination, Ms. Yashika illustrated various techniques using maan kombu (antlers), surul pattai (steel-blade whip) and has now excelled in Silambam, he added.
Now, Ms. Yashika is adept in the artform and has bagged the gold in a Silambam e-competition held during the lockdown.
