Kalari is the Malayalam word, for a special kind of Gymnasium, where the martial art known as Kalarippayattu, a martial art of Kerala, is practiced. Kalari, literally means threshing floor or battlefield, is a specially constructed practice area.

Every Kalari has a Poothara (meaning "platform where flowers are kept" in the Malayalam language). It's a seven tiered platform placed in the south-west corner of every Kalari, housing the guardian deity of the Kalari. The seven tiers symbolise the seven abilities that each person must possess: Vignesva (strength), Channiga (patience), Vishnu (power to command), Vadugashcha (the posture), Tadaguru (training), Kali (the expression) and Vakasta - purushu (sound). Other deities, most of them incarnations of the Bhagavathi or Shiva, are installed in the corners. Flowers, incense and water are offered to the deity every day. Before starting the day's practice, it is the norm for practitioners to pray to the deity. Not only is the Kalari a temple of learning, but it is also a temple of religious worship with a cult and ritual of its own.

There is also a Guruthara inside all kalaris. Guruttara means "the place where a lamp is kept burning in reverence to all the gurus (masters) of the kalari".

• Introduction ::
• Kerala Hill Stations
• Kerala Wildlife
• Kerala Houseboats
• Kerala Backwaters
• Kerala Beaches
• Ayurveda
• kerala martial art-Kalaripayattu