Three Hindu Dancers Refused To Perform After 2 Non-Hindu Dancers Were Denied To Perform At Kerala Temple Festival
Update: 2022-04-03 16:37 IST
Three Hindu Dancers Refused To Perform After 2 Non-Hindu Dancers Were Denied To Perform At Kerala Temple Festival
Three Hindu dancers withdrew from the dance performance at Thrissur's Koodalmanikyam Temple in protest after two non-Hindu dancers were denied permission to perform there.
Dancers Anju Aravind, Karthik Manikandan, and Devika Sajeevan posted on social media that they had opted not to participate at the festival because they couldn't accept the ban on fellow dancers because of their religious identity, reported The Logical Indian.
Classical dancers Mansiya V P and Soumya Sukumaran claimed earlier this week that they were denied permission to perform at a scheduled dance performance because they were "non-Hindus." Both dancers had been required to provide certificates stating that they had converted to Hinduism in order to perform at the temple, which they both declined to do later.
The temple's decision to ban two dancers sparked outrage, and the government later encouraged the temple board to consult with all parties involved and reach a decision. Mansiya expressed her gratitude for the three Hindu dancers' decision. She thanked everyone for their support and remarked that for artists, art is their faith and breath.
After her show was cancelled, the Bharatnatyam dancer was the first to speak up. Her family had chastised her for learning classical dancing because she was from a Muslim family in the Malappuram area. Her family was also threatened by fundamentalists, was ejected from the mahal committee, and lived in exclusion. They did, however, continue to pursue their passion for art.
Soumya Sukumaran was also denied permission because she is a Christian. She then claimed that the temple officials had nominated her based on her name, mistaking her for a Hindu.
Following the uproar, youth organisations, cultural leaders, and right-wing organisations such as the Hindu Aikya Vedia have all criticised the decision. Later, the temple board addressed the tantri (top priest) of the temple, who has the last say in temple customs and procedures, and requested that the age-old tradition be tweaked.
U Pradeep Menon, chairman of the temple board, said that he agree that such practises should be changed. The tantri and other priests have been approached. It's a delicate situation, and a decision can only be made with the agreement of all parties involved.
He went on to say that the prohibition applied to everyone, not just artists, and that when they do religious work, they clearly state in the quote that only Hindu workers are permitted inside the temple grounds.