Arpit Singh is famous in Mumbai as a Kalaripayettu Teacher (Ancient Indian martial art from Kerala) and has taught many students in the past five years. He is also an actor & a fire dancer performing in films & shows. Having faced an extremely troubled childhood, he has always kept fighting against all odds. His story motivates us to take the fight one day at a time. Here he reveals his Hatke Story that will inspire & motivate you to keep exploring and never give up.
Where did you grow up and study? Family, childhood, aspirations, tell us all.
Arpit Singh – Harchandpur is a small station near Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. In Harchandpur is a small village called Drigpal Singh ka Purva which is inhabited mainly by Thakurs. I was born into a Rajput zamindar family of that village, studied in my village in a Sanskrit Gurukul till the fifth standard.
Our village was extremely violent. Murders, rapes, extortion, robbery, and burning of houses and fields were a common sight. Most of the perpetrators were our close relatives. Rape wasn’t considered rape, and the burning of girls for the demand of dowry was common. In 2003, my bua (Father’s sister) was burnt alive for the demand of dowry. I saw the dance of ranges (Local name for strip dancers in U.P.) at home when I was a 5-year-old.
They would unbutton their blouse while I watched sitting alongside my grandfather. Only the men of the house watched these dances while the women were made to sit indoors. At the formative age of 5, I was made to sit there and fiddle with the dancer’s breasts. I was amid this horrific conditioning.
What I wanted to become was still unclear, but all I wanted to do was buy a bullet bike of my own. There was a man in the other village who owned a bullet and was respected for the same. There was a lot of demonstration effect. It worked in crimes also. Children got inspired by established killers and rapists and wanted to break records set by them.
When I was 8, I ran from the village to earn money to buy my bullet. I boarded a random train and was lost for five days. Later, I was rescued from Kanpur. My father got worried about our future, and we moved to Delhi.
Did situations get better in Delhi?
Arpit Singh – After moving to Delhi, my father put me in a government school. There, I’d constantly fight with classmates and got thrashed almost every week.
Nothing was working in my favor in Delhi too. I had to work as a child laborer in a local grocery store with a meager salary of 600 rupees. I slogged in that store from 6 am to midnight. That followed a foot massage session with the Owner’s mom, and I got to sleep only by 2:30 am. And after a sleep of 3-4 hours, I would open the shop. This cruelty ran for five months. Due to financial instability, we had to relocate to Lucknow. There, I studied in a convent school for two years. Clearly, I couldn’t understand a word taught.
After two years, father moved to Delhi again and started selling bananas on a cart. I assisted him for a year and did not go to school at all. When I became an expert in selling bananas, I got a cart of my own. It was a matter of a few months that I started earning more than him.
From childhood, I am good with counting money, learning new skills, and in physical work. Father wanted me to study. He admitted me to an evening government school. The teacher there was highly violent and corrupt. He would thrash us every day, take attendance and go. Students were passed when they gave money or cigarette packs. I focused on selling bananas more.
While selling bananas, I became friends with pickpockets, chain snatchers, and drug peddlers. In 9th standard, I started supplying marijuana. I would put contraband in my school bag and carry it from the Badarpur border to Red Fort. Worked as a chain snatcher, picked pockets, participated in half murder by stabbing people with a knife (Stops and has tears in his eyes while remembering these horrific episodes).
Love changed me. In 10th standard, an English teacher walked in and very warmly said, “Good morning.” I cried hearing that. No one had ever talked to me so lovingly. His love changed everything, and I started developing an interest in books for the first time. I joined a science tuition class. There, I fell in love with a girl and to impress her I started studying. It resulted in me passing 10th with 51%, and there was a party in our locality.
Why did Arpit Singh decide to become a Kalari master, fire dancer, and actor?
Arpit Singh – I did not decide. That girl played a huge role in shaping my life. I have never planned my life and took things as they came. She had said to me once: “Arpit, the day you start earning 15 thousand per month from a job. My parents will approve of our marriage.”
I studied day and night in 12th and passed with 67%. Looking at my percentage, one of my friends encouraged me to fill the form for college. When the University cutout list came, I got a college at the eleventh hour. The teacher on the admission counter said the fee was 5300 per year. I was amazed as I earned a minimum of 800 per day on my banana cart. I got admitted into Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi.
Acting came to me when I joined Sangharsh (Bhagat Singh College’s theatre society)—started with the chorus in street plays. Earning from street play competitions became like a second job to me. I quickly became a nukkad star. All the plays were based on social issues. My first-hand experience with issues made me a natural. Nukkad required a loud projection of voice. My throat was trained for it while shouting for customers to sell bananas.
After graduation, I went to Kolkata to explore art. My family did not have any problem with my decision because I earned it for ten years. In Kolkata, I only had Arko Mukhopadhyay’s number, which I got from the National School of Drama (NSD) pass out Nikita Sarkar. Initially, I stayed with Arko in Kolkata. By now, I had found my inclination towards physical theatre.
In Kolkata, I did theatre for the whole day. I explored a lot of things and was so lucky to have done everything for free. In one year in Kolkata, I spent only 29,000 rupees which included my travel and training. In Kolkata, I found Kalaripayettu. And there, I met a guruji with whom I went to Kerala Gurukulam to learn Kalari and later on fire dance as a part of it.
Then for the next three years, I traveled extensively, learning different forms. I also stayed in the School Of Drama & Fine Arts, Thrissur, for a while. There I attended classes and accessed the library. The classes would be conducted in Malayalam, but I’d still sit and try to comprehend. I got a chance to work in their productions. The school was kind enough to allow me to access all this without being a student.
There, I met Martin C. John, who has a theatre group called Sadhana. Their group traveled by bus, which was a makeshift stage (Odichodichu – Oru Bus Natakam). Worked in Ninasam, Kattaikkuttu Sangam and met John Britton. In 2013, Arko called me and told me about John’s visit to India. I went to the airport to receive him. It was John’s maiden trip to India. Since then, I have been working with him. My gurus are Abani Biswas for theatre and Ajith Gurukal for kalari.
Have you always been fitness focussed?
Arpit Singh – I’ve always been a morning person. I had to go to buy bananas early in the morning. If I wouldn’t do it, then all the good stock would go. From there on, rising early became a habit. Being active is being fit.
What do you think is the biggest challenge in fitness?
Arpit Singh – Lack of consistency, impatience, and result-oriented nature are the biggest challenges. I am professionally teaching Kalari for the last five years. Have taught lots of communities: corporates, dancers, actors, artists, non-artists, and theatre practitioners.
These three things hamper everyone’s fitness journey.
- One mustn’t think about the result but get up and do it every day for self.
- If you design the desired result, you will stop the journey.
- Either you’ll stop after achieving the target, or you’ll stop after getting demotivated.
I have taught 900 people in the last five years. Sadly, none of them came just to enjoy the process.
If you don’t have a target, how do you get motivated to do it every day?
Arpit Singh – I like it, and my body feels happy. There is a triangle between life, work, and training. Most of the people do work training. In this case, life suffers. One must also train for life. Doing these exercises is like training for a quality life. If I improve my life, my work also improves. So, one must focus on this triangle.
When and why did you come to Mumbai? How did you manage to survive in this city?
Arpit Singh – I applied for Shri Ram Centre of Performing arts (SRC) and National School of Drama (NSD) to study theatre. None of them called me. For two years, I did extensive theatre training. After two years, both SRC and NSD called me to teach physical theatre. It was a proud moment for me. One day I was practicing Kalari on the street, and Sumeet Nagdev saw me.
He gave me his card and said, give me a call whenever you want to teach Kalari in Mumbai. After six months of meeting him, I wanted to attend a workshop. The fee for that workshop was 20,000. I called Sumeet and told him that I was ready to teach and needed 20000. He was kind enough to keep me at his place, do my tickets, and gave me 20000 for a 20-day workshop.
Later, I wrote to thespian Atul Kumar expressing my interest in working with him. He asked me to come to Mumbai. When I came, he was in Singapore and wasn’t taking any calls. I stayed at Borivali station for three days as there was nowhere else to go. After three days, Atul called me and asked me to go to Kamshet for his theatre residency. After staying there for ten days, I felt I should go to Mumbai and work. That’s when I came to Mumbai.
As for survival, I’ve always focused on my strength. Kalari was one of my strengths. I gave free demo classes in almost every dance school. Sumeet also helped me in making a mailer. By the second month, I started getting assignments. There has been no looking back from there. Some kind souls like Prabhat Raghunandan (Also an actor) gave me a place to stay for a month. It is in that month that I genuinely established myself as a Kalari teacher.
How has criticism shaped you?
Arpit Singh – I was always treated like a good for nothing. But I took nothing personally. Ignorance is bliss. When I started doing theatre, I was labeled a bad actor, and that I wasn’t trained enough to be a teacher. People would abuse on the face. But the criticism in my personal life had given me the power to ignore these petty comments and move on.
My reference point has always been that “Good morning” of 10th standard where love transformed me. So, I only respond to love and ignore hatred, criticism, and discrimination. This approach has helped me to stride forward in life every passing day.
How do your family, friends respond to your career?
Arpit Singh – They are thrilled and can’t contain their happiness. I am the most inspiring person in the whole area. For the longest time, they did not have a clue about what I was up to. The first time when they saw me doing a fire dance at my brother’s marriage, all the villagers were stunned with pride. My video went viral in the villages nearby.
I am in touch with my old friend circles—even the thieves and pickpockets of Delhi, auto drivers, and wine shop owners. Wasim (Old friend from Delhi) was in Tihar for murder. My definition of a friend is any person who teaches me anything. I have always befriended people who I feel can contribute constructively to my growth. Always make friends with progressive people and run away from regressive ones.
What are your dreams for yourself?
Arpit Singh – I never had dreams. But right now, I have. In 2004, I earned 600 rupees per month, and in 2016, I earned 82000 rupees in a day. I cried that day. It was a dramatic change for me. I still remember, When I would put my hand inside a customer’s car window to give bananas, I could feel the cooling of air conditioning.
That feeling is still fresh to me. A boy who sold bananas on the streets is now teaching at international film schools like Whistling woods. Coming from there, it has been an overwhelming journey, and I am thrilled and thankful.
The dream that I have from here is to become an outstanding actor and earn money.
Would you please give fitness advice to our readers?
Arpit Singh – There are two kinds of fitness- mind, and body. If the body is flexible, then the mind is relaxed. A flexible body spreads anxiety evenly on the whole body. It reduces pressure from the forehead and brain. If you constantly think for two hours, you get exhausted. If you engage the body in the thinking process, then you won’t get exhausted.
Do not juggle with too many forms. If you join a class or any form, give the body 21 days to set and 90 days to become a habit. Don’t confuse body by shuffling between short courses of Boxing, Zumba, Yoga, Running, and Gym. Do one thing and do it with discipline. There should be one base exercise of your body. It could be any form. It prevents the body from injuries and helps you in times when you get demotivated.
Also, Yawning and stretching in bed after waking up are very important. It loosens the locomotion of joints. After this, you can do push-ups. If you can’t do push-ups, then you can do hanging exercise on a bar. One can put the bar at home. Try to be a child in a park. Start your exercise in your bedroom. Be a child.
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