Amma is on fire with Silambam moves at Deepavali gathering

 

An elderly woman has charmed social media users with an impromptu fire dance, showing off her Silambam skills with a flaming staff. - PIC CREDIT: threads/gesh_de_wanderer

KUALA LUMPUR: An elderly woman has charmed social media users with an impromptu fire dance, showing off her Silambam skills with a flaming staff.

Spinning the long staff, with flames burning at both ends, she creates sweeping arcs of fire.

The performance took place at her family home in Batu Gajah, Perak, on Deepavali night. The video was posted on Threads yesterday by user gesh_de_wanderer, whose real name is L. Kunesegaran.

Kunesegaran said he had encouraged his mother to join them as they played with firecrackers during the gathering.

"While we were playing with firecrackers, my aunties and Amma were watching us. I kept insisting that Amma join us, but she was initially shy because around 16 family members had gathered at our kampung house, watching from the car porch.

"Eventually, I managed to convince her. To our surprise, she suddenly started showing off her Silambam moves!" he said.

He said he only learnt about his mother's martial arts background after the performance.

"Only after everything was over did she reveal that she used to be a Silambam player back in school," he said.

The video drew affectionate reactions from users, with many celebrating the reminder that mothers, too, were once young and had their own talents and playful sides.

"Sometimes we forget, our mom was also once a child," user anis.azziyati wrote.

"For a moment, I thought it was AI. So lovely to watch her in action," user numu.life commented.

Another user recognised her martial arts skills, writing: "Looks like she knew silambam."

"Amma is on fire!! Too cute!!!" user revera_rebels commented.

Silambam is a traditional Indian martial art believed to date back more than 5,000 years. Originating in Tamil Nadu, southern India, it uses a bamboo or wooden staff as its main weapon, with practitioners performing intricate spins and strikes that require flexibility and coordination. - NST