Muslim woman denied permission to perform Bharatanatyam at Koodalmanikyam temple

A 27-year-old Bharatnatyam performer from Kerala has been denied permission to perform in Koodalmanikyam temple in Thrissur because she is a non-Hindu.

Mansiya V P, who has a doctorate in Bharatanatyam, is Muslim by birth but claims she follows no religion. The Devaswom Board, governed by the Kerala state, cited the traditions of the Koodalmanikyam temple to deny Mansiya the permission to perform during the 10-day festival where over 800 artistes from nine states shall participate in a dance and music festival. The festival begins April 21.

Mansiya took to Facebook to express her disappointment at being denied entry to the prestigious event. “One of the temple office-bearers informed me that I cannot perform at the temple as I am a non-Hindu. All stages are allotted based on religion, not considering whether you are a good dancer or not. In the meantime, I have been facing queries about whether I converted to Hinduism after marriage,” she said.

The committee, which had shortlisted her for the April 21 event earlier, asked her if she had converted to Hinduism since her husband belongs to the community. “The committee member even offered to reconsider the decision if that was the case. But how will a person like me, who has no religion, get converted,” Mansiya asked.

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Mansiya said this isn’t the first time she was denied permission to perform at a temple. A few years ago, she was allegedly denied permission to perform at the Guruvayoor Sree Krishna temple at Guruvayoor for the same reason. “Art and artists continue to be knotted with religion and caste. When it is forbidden to one religion, it becomes the monopoly of another religion. This experience is not new to me. I am recording it here (on Facebook) only to remind that nothing has changed in our secular Kerala,’’ she added.

However, her ‘Arangetram’ (debut on stage) of Bharatanatyam, Kathakali and Kuchipudi were held at Melptahur auditorium, Mansiya told another media house. Since then she has performed at the temples in Malappuram, Palakkad, Kottayam and Kannur districts.

Mansiya is married to musician Shyam Kalyan, who follows Hinduism. Mansiya, however, decided not to follow any religion and remain an atheist.

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Earlier, Mansiya had to face the Muslim community’s ire and boycott for choosing dance as her career.  Speaking to another media house, Mansiya recalled her struggle. She said it was tough for her and her sister Rubiya to pursue the path of dance. “People would abuse us as we walked on the streets. Some even tried to attack us. My relatives would tell me I will go to hell because I dance. At that time our parents consoled us and told us not to worry because we had not done anything wrong,” she said.

Koodalmanikyam Devaswom (temple) Board chairman Pradeep Menon said Mansiya was denied permission to perform at the festival in accordance with “the existing tradition of the temple”, which allows only Hindus to perform within the compound of the temple.

Koodalmanikyam temple is dedicated to Bharata, the second brother of Ram. Bharata is referred to as ‘Sangameshwara’ meaning ‘the Lord of the Confluence’.