Art should be above religion, say Kerala artistes

As two Kerala temples bar artistes from performing because of their religion, support for the artistes pours in

When Mansiya’s mother died, she was denied a qabar (grave). The mahal committee felt she didn’t deserve one as her daughter was practising a “Hindu art form”. Years later, the 27-year-old, who is pursuing her research in Bharatanatyam at Kerala Kalamandalam, was ousted for being a non-Hindu from a dance festival at Koodalmanikyam temple. The dancer says she has faced many such incidents in the past, but this time the sudden announcement came as a rude shock. A section of the art fraternity has expressed outrage and spoken up in support. Three dancers pulled out of the festival in protest.

“I spoke up as it was not a stray incident involving an individual. I am speaking for artistes who have been denied a stage, and against temple officials who ask artistes to sign a declaration about their religious identity. I had the same experience at Guruvayoor, but the committee was polite. When they expressed concern over possible opposition, I decided not to participate and create an issue,” says Mansiya.

For many performers, art is their religion and medium of worship, but that is questioned in a divisive world. “Two years ago, a dancer-friend was excluded from a performance at the last minute as she belonged to an oppressed caste. She waited backstage in full costume for the others to finish. Do we deserve such humiliation?” she asks.

Mansiya started learning classical dance as a three-year-old. Since she belonged to a conservative Muslim family, the journey was fraught with challenges. “All my teachers were very supportive, but our mahal committee couldn’t accept Muslim girls learning Hindu dance and we were expelled from the community. Ours is a very religious family and my mother was a devout Muslim. When she was denied a qabar, we were shattered. After the incident we severed all ties with our religion.”

Cyber bullying

While several politicians and celebrities are rallying behind her, the artiste is facing severe cyber bullying. “I have been getting threat calls. This is the reason why most artistes remain silent. They know it might open a Pandora’s box and they will have to face criticism from multiple quarters.”

Poorakali or Marathukali, an amalgam of melody and movements, is a ritualistic art form performed by men during the Malayalam month of Meenam. A novice earns the title of ‘Panicker’ after several performances and Vinod was honoured with ‘Pattum Valayum’ and ‘Panicker’ in the mid-80s. A lead performer in various temples, last year the Vaniyillam Someswari temple committee replaced him with another artiste. “As per custom, the temple committee members visit the Panicker’s home and escort him to the temple. But they refused to come to my house since my daughter-in-law is a Muslim. I was given two options — either my daughter-in-law or I shift to a different house. When I refused, they hired another artiste,” he says. This year one more temple followed suit, citing it as a norm and triggering a controversy.