Laughing Buddha

The celestial Buddha named Hotei (in Japanese) or Budai is best known as the jolly Laughing Buddha. His large protruding stomach and jolly smile have given him the commondesignation "Laughing Buddha" in Chinese. In the west he is popularly known as "Fat Buddha." His name means "Cloth Sack," and comes from the bag that he carries. In China, he is known as the Loving or Friendly One. Laughing Buddha statues depict a stout, smiling or laughing bald man in robes with a largely exposed pot belly stomach, which symbolizes happiness, good luck, and plenitude and is often depicted as having the appearance of an amply proportioned bald man wearing a robe and wearing or otherwise carrying prayer beads. Laughing Buddha appears throughout Chinese culture as a representation of contentment. His image graces many temples, restaurants, amulets, and businesses. He carries his few possessions in a cloth sack, being poor but content. According to legend, if one rubs the Laughing Buddha's great belly, it brings forth wealth, good luck, and prosperity.

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Kalaripayattu–Indian Martial Arts

Kalaripayattu is an Indian martial art from the southern state of Kerala. One of the oldest fighting systems in existence and is known to be 3000 years old. The art was disseminated through the kalari, which served as active centers of learning before the modern educational system was introduced. Still in existence, these institutions were schools where students could assemble together and acquire knowledge on various subjects ranging from mathematics, language, astronomy and various theatrical arts. Martial arts were taught in the payattu kalari, meaning fight school.

Kalaripayatt includes strikes, kicks, grappling, preset forms, weaponry and healing methods. The kalari tradition is struggling to survive in the land of its origin. A few families in north Kerala, who are the repositories of this ancient knowledge, have been keeping the tradition barely alive by opening schools and clinics.

Taking kalaripayattu more seriously are modern dance enthusiasts in Europe and the US. They are attracted by the sheer physicality, the fluid body movements of the martial art. Their emphasis, however, is less on weapons and more on adapting the movements to their own dance forms.