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Paika akhada is an Odia term which roughly translates as "warrior gymnasium" or "warrior school".[1] The martial arts performed by the people of Khandayat caste (peasant-militias) and Gopal caste (Cowherds)[2] in Odisha, eastern India. In former times they served as the Paikas (foot Soldiers) under the kings. Today's paika akhada are used for practicing the traditional physical exercises in addition to the paika dance, a performance art with rhythmic movements and weapons being hit in time to the drum. It incorporates acrobatic manoeuvres and use of the khanda (straight sword), patta (guantlet-sword), sticks, and other weapons.
The word paika comes from the Odia padatika meaning infantry. "Akhada" or akhara refers to a training hall, or in this case referring to a particular string of such schools. The former spelling is an alternate transcription of the proper Sanskrit akhara in which the Oriya letter ଡ଼ ṛ, a flapped [ɽ] sound, is rendered as d as in most Indian languages.
^"Paika Akhada". Indian Association of Kickboxing Organisations. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
^Akio Tanabe (29 July 2021). Caste and Equality in India: A Historical Anthropology of Diverse Society and Vernacular Democracy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-00-040933-8.
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