I was a kid when I first heard of martial arts. When I visited Coimbatore during my summer holidays, my cousin Madanika, who was learning the skill, could break bricks with her bare hands. Impressively, she didn’t bleed or scream in pain. She would practice and practice and when I asked her why she was doing it, she told me her aim was to get a black belt.
All this for a belt? I wondered why she didn’t buy it at a shop and told her as much. She broke into laughter and told me the different levels of mastery meant different colours.
It didn’t make any sense to me. I was a bookworm and a movie buff, not a ‘kick and exercise’ kid. However, at times, I would climb the huge indoor swing in my grandmother’s home to hold a board, so Madanika could practice her high kicks.
Now Madanika’s master had asked all his students to watch The 36th Chamber of Shaolin showing at a local theatre in Coimbatore. Madanika being kind enough to take me along, I was introduced to my first martial arts movie and was hooked.
I decided that when I grew up, I would study martial arts in Shaolin!
In my teens, I watched Enter the Dragon. This is when I first ‘saw’ Bruce Lee. Later, I was shocked to learn that he had died decades ago. Madanika told me he was Chinese, the master of kung fu and had died under mysterious circumstances. This started a fiery discussion in my paternal grandparents’ home about how Bruce Lee died — some argued that he was poisoned while others claimed it was the blows.
I felt sad he was dead. I thought the guy was a real cool hero as he had the physique and looks of an international superstar. I listened to Kung Fu Fighting repeatedly. After the arrival of our own VHS player, I watched martial arts movies and realised how Indian movies were changing.
Indian movie stars could beat a number of villains thanks to the flying kicks. Across India, both women and men were learning martial arts. In one quick move, Lee destroyed the caste, lingual and gender barriers in India.
I think the crime rate actually fell in India and crimes such as chain-snatching or gang-rapes were non-existent. Also, there was a revival of ancient Indian martial art forms like silambatam, kalari, varma kalai etc. However, I was disappointed to learn that girls couldn’t get admission into Shaolin! I decided not to learn martial arts.
It was only when I went to the US to earn my master’s degree that I truly learnt about Bruce Lee. His son Brandon Lee had just died in his 20s. The news was all about the death of Brandon Lee, the Bruce Lee family curse, etc. I was surprised to learn that Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco to Chinese parents and was a Chinese American much like Amy Tan whose movie The Joy Luck Club had just released.
I learnt Lee had a daughter, Shannon Lee, who now shouldered the sole responsibility of carrying on his legacy. I also learnt he had acted only in four films, but spelt doom for ‘cowboy’ movies and martial arts movies were officially a genre. I was surprised to hear Bruce Lee himself had learnt martial arts to protect himself and had studied drama and philosophy at the University of Washington where he was influenced by the writings of two Indians — Buddha and J. Krishnamurthy.
If Bruce Lee had lived, who knows how the world might have changed? But neither he nor Brandon Lee whose 20th death anniversary is also being observed this year are alive.
I think I will start learning kung fu and revive it like in the 80s and 90s as world crime rates are the highest now. While he remains forever young in my mind, Bruce Lee’s 40th death anniversary was observed on July 20.
Deepa Kandaswamy is an award-winning writer, political analyst and author based in India.
