A living legend of traditional martial art Kalaripayattu, Sankaranarayana Menon Chundayil to be conferred with Padma Shri award in the sports category. 93 year old, Chundayil is the senior most member of the Mudavangattil family and he still runs the Kalari training center in Thrissur.
Chundayil who has devoted his life to popularise the martial art, still reaches the training center at 6 am and supervise the training till 8.30 am. His three children also helps him at the centre and train students.
He was six when he learned the martial art from his father. Everyone in their family including the ladies have learned the kalaripayattu and have travelled overseas to promote it. They have opened Vallabhatta centres in the UK, US, France, Belgium and Sri Lanka. Currently, Vallabhatta Kalari trains over 5,000 people in 17 branches around the world.