Anua Village

India / Orissa / Rambha /
THE VILLAGE FAMOUS FOR PAIKAS. Paika akhada is a combination of war-dance and martial art from Odisha, eastern India. Once used by the state's warrior class, after the British Raj it exists today only as a performance art with rhythmic movements and weapons being hit in time to music. It incorporates acrobatic maneuvres and use of the khanda (straight sword), patta (guantlet-sword), sticks, and other weapons.
Paika is an Oriya word for fighter or warrior. The term akhada refers to a training hall, or in this case a system of training. Paika akhada thus roughly translates as "warrior fighting system".
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Coordinates:   19°35'11"N   85°17'52"E
This article was last modified 11 years ago