Orgin

Late Gurkkual Sankuuni Panicker was the last member of the “Mudavungattil” family on whom the title of Panicker was conferred by the VETTTAH ROYAL HIGHNESS. He is the father of the present Gurukkal Sri Sankara Narayana Menon. Members of the Mudavungattil family were the commanders in Chief of the Vettah Raja. Then the members of this family were great deponents of the art of Kalari Payattu and held the Gurustanam of the royal family. The records of one nine one five and one nine two five state indicate that Vallabhatta tradition was in existence since VETTAH RAJA’s kingdom came into existence. Kalari, in the same form exists even now at Niramaruthoor, Tirur Taluk, which is now a mere temple. Veerasree Gurukkal Sankunni Panicker was trained by his uncle late Krishna Panicker Achen, disciple of Eravi alias Karnataka Panicker. He conducted classes in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and gave equal importance to the promotion of Marma Chikilsa and Kalaripayyattu. In 1957 he established the training centre at Chavakkadu under the name and style of “SREE NARAYANA GURU SMARAKA VALLABHATTA KALARI SANGAM” at Thrissur District, in Kerala, India.

In the mid 1960s, Krishnaprathap father Karthikeyan Gurukkal took training at “SREE NARAYANA GURU SMARAKA VALLABHATTA KALARI SANGAM” under the tutelage of SRI SANAKRA NARAYANA MENON, the present Gurukkal. Karthikeyan Gurukkal is a member of KERALA KALARIPAYATTU ASSOCIATION R NO; N/ 39/.1972 S N G S VALLABHATTA KALARI AT ERATTAPPUZHA PO; BLANGAD TRICHUR KERALA. Krishnaprathap took training from his father from the young age of six, after which he went to “SREE NARAYANA GURU SMARAKA VALLABHATTA KALARI SANGAM” at Chavakkad to train under the tutelage of Sri Sankara Narayana Menon (who was also a Guru to his father) for nearly 13 years. He also had the fortune to learn from Sri Sanakara Narayana Menon’s sons Sri Krishnadas Gurukkal, Sri Rajiv Gurukkal & Sri Dinesh Gurukkal who taught him different nuances of Kalari Payattu.