The Performance Of A 'Non-Hindu' Bharatanatyam Dancer In A Kerala Temple Has Been Halted
Update: 2022-03-30 11:00 IST
Bharatanatyam exponent Mansiya VP.
The Koodalmanikyam Temple in Kerala's Thrissur region on Sunday cancelled famous Bharatanatyam exponent Mansiya VP's concert on April 21 as she is not a Hindu performer. Mansiya was born a Muslim but now considers herself an agnostic.
A 10-day festival at the shrine will feature over 800 artists. Pradeep Menon, chairperson of the Koodalmanikyam temple board said that they have to ask the artists whether they are Hindu or non-Hindu. Mansiya had written that she has no religion. As a result, she was turned down for the event from performing. She went to the temple in accordance with the temple's established tradition.
Mansiya stated in a Facebook post on March 27 that the temple, which is run by the government's Devaswom Board, refused to let her appear at their festival despite the fact that the schedule had been established in advance. She added that show information has also been printed on brochures.
The dancer explained that one of the temple office-bearers advised her that as a non-Hindu, she was not permitted to perform at the temple. She highlighted the point that dancers are given stages based on their religion, not their ability.
Mansiya wrote that she is unconcerned about the incident because it is not the first time it has occurred to her. She claimed that the Guravayoor Temple in the state had previously declined to accommodate her performance.
She claimed she was using Facebook to capture her exclusion from the Koodalmanikyam Temple event as a message that nothing has changed in Kerala's secular state.
While Mansiya, a PhD researcher in Bharatanatyam at Kerala Kalamandalam, stated that following her marriage to violinist and artist Shyam Kalyan, a temple office-bearer inquired if she changed to Hinduism.
Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor, a Congress member, criticized the Koodalmanikyam Temple administration for refusing to let the dancer perform. He mentioned in the tweet that "other faiths go out of their way to attract others to respect their religion, throwing open the doors of mosques, churches, gurudwaras and synagogues to all, but some of my fellow Hindus prefer to shut our temples to outsiders, " reported Scroll.In.
Former Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja also expressed his displeasure with the temple's decision, calling it concerning.