Kerala: Muslim Woman Not Allowed To Dance in Hindu Temple
A Bharatanatyam dancer has alleged that the famous Koodalmanikyam Temple in Irinjalakuda town of Kerala’s Thrissur district has denied her permission to stage a scheduled programme on its premises bec
Mansiya V.P. is a famous dancer. She was born in a Muslim family. Both Mansiya and her elder sister were trained in Bharatanatyam. Mansiya had faced many problems as her friends and family would say why is she learning bharatnatyam as it is not part of Muslim culture. Many people stopped talking to her. Even in school students stayed away from the girls as they felt they are breaking rules of Islam, But their parents were very supportive. Mansiya pursued a Master’s in Bharatanatyam from the University of Madras, then Masters in Philosophy from kerala Kalamandalam. Now she is pursuing a PhD for three years. Mansiya is married to Shyam Kalyan, a Carnatic classical violinist. Mansiya was supposed to do a dance programme on April 21 at the Koodalmanikyam temple in Thrissur district, Kerala. Mansiya was asked by the temple authorities if she had converted to Hinduism after her wedding. When she told the temple authorities that she did not follow any religion, they told her she cannot perform at the event as only Hindus were allowed to perform inside the temple. Mansiya said, “It’s rather ironic that most of my solo performances were in temples, where I faced no issues. In Kerala I have performed in big temples such as the Mahadeva temple in Vaikkom and the famous Chidambaram and Thanjavur temples in Tamil Nadu, plus many in Andhra Pradesh. Several years ago I was denied an opportunity to perform at the Guruvayur temple festival for the same reason.” At least 10 dancers called her up and spoke of caste-based discrimination at temple festivals.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed disappointment over the incident, saying “Art has no religion or caste, but here, art has been overruled by religion.”The Vishwas Hindu Parishad (VHP) said that this was the Kerala Government’s plan to instigate a rift between the Hindus and Muslims and spoil the name of the Hindus. VHP state chief Viji Thampi said, “We have decided to invite Mansiya and are ready to have her perform in all 140 temples under the VHP’s control.”
