Way of the Bow archery festival in Thiruvananthapuram from January 31

The origins of the Way of the Bow festival tin beryllium traced backmost to 16 years, erstwhile Praveen Ramachandran, vice president of the Indo-Vedic Traditional Archery Association (ITAA), approached members of tribes crossed Kerala, specified arsenic the Kurichiya, Kani, and Kuruma, arsenic good arsenic the Khasi people successful the North East, to larn accepted archery. The three-day festival, which begins connected January 31 astatine Prakirtheeyam astatine Nedumangad successful Thiruvananthapuram, celebrates the waning signifier of accepted archery. It is curated by Gadha Suresh of the taste collective, Two by Three.

“The festival is astir establishing accepted archery arsenic a mainstream sport, amusement mean and seeing it with a meditative approach,” says Praveen. “It is portion of a vanishing heritage. When we speech astir archery, we lone see modern archery, which is taken from overseas countries. We person a accepted archery civilization that is astatine hazard of getting extinct and whitethorn stay lone successful the annals of history.”

At Way of the Bow festival, competitions volition beryllium held successful 3 categories —cultural accepted archers, traditional-inspired/shelf/hunting and tribal archers. The challenges volition utilise 3D archery, wherever the participants indispensable deed targets from 35 yards arsenic opposed to the 75 yards successful modern archery. However, the targets volition beryllium moving to simulate the conditions of a hunting expedition, which makes the shooting difficult.

Over 30 participants are expected to be the festival, which includes 17 Indo-Vedic archers, 10 from the Kani people (they usage slings and stones alternatively of bows) and 7 modern archers.

“Modern archery participants lucifer sniper shooters with their accent connected accuracy. Everything successful modern archery, specified arsenic stabilisers, is astir ensuring that you person a fixed target. That is cleanable people practice. Traditional archery is much dynamic. You larn to sprout with some arms, due to the fact that isolated from being a hunting tool, it is besides portion of warfare. It is besides precise situational,” says Praveen.

The fete volition spot objection connected mace-wielding by S Mahesh Gurukkal of Agasthyam Kalari. Other events see archery workshops, discussions, and taste programmes.

Reviving a mislaid creation

“The disappearance of accepted archery is often attributed to the diminution of hunting. However, the festival aims to pivot it from hunting to a sports category,” says Praveen. The festival attempts to bash this done 3D archery. “You are inactive hunting but not hurting anything. This creates possibilities for environmentally affable and sustainable archery-related tourism.”

Praveen says, “The Indian Archery Association erstwhile wanted to present archery successful schools, but the world is that modern archery is expensive. If we tin present accepted archery instead, it volition beryllium easier, cheaper, and tin go an manufacture surrounding the making of equipment.”

At the festival the participants tin usage their ain bows that bash not person arrow rests, stabilisers, sights, clickers, oregon compounds. Only woody oregon bamboo arrows are allowed. They are required to deterioration accepted attire and quivers.

The festival is connected from January 31 to February 2 astatine Prakirtheeyam astatine Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram. A single-day walk is priced astatine ₹299 and three-day walk is ₹799. The tickets tin beryllium booked connected wayofthebowfestival.com