Why Sabri N, the first Muslim girl to join Kerala Kalamandalam, loves Kathakali

Kerala Kalamandalam, one of India’s foremost centres for performing arts, had its first non-Hindu student, Hyderali in 1957. Incidentally, it was the very year Kerala got its first communist government even though the two incidents have little in common.

Hyderali joined Kalamandalam to study music, and he went on to become a maestro in the field, before his untimely death in a road traffic accident in 2006. It took another 14 years after Hyderali for a non-Hindu, to enrol for the Kathakali acting course when Kalamandalam John had joined the institution making history. That happened in 1971. Even after that not many non-Hindus have studied in this prestigious institution.

History of Kerala Kalamandalam intertwined with Kathakali

Founded by poet Vallathol Narayana Menon, in 1930, Kerala Kalamandalam, a deemed-to-be university now, has a history intertwined with the art form – Kathakali. The enigma of Sanskrit poetry was unravelled by Kathakali, which also then took it to a larger audience. Legends of the likes of Kalamadalam Krishnan Nair and Gopi Aashan had been faculty members at Kalamandalam at various periods of time.

Cultural heavyweights from Vallathol to ONV Kurup have helmed the institution, with renowned dancer Mallika Sarabhai being the present chancellor of the deemed university.

Interestingly, her mother Mrinalini Sarabhai, the founder of Darpana academy of performing arts, Ahmedabad, that caters to various performing arts like dance, music, drama and puppetry, was the first woman to learn the all-male style of Kathakali.

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Breaking barriers

Four teenage students—Arya, Akshaya, Durga, and Swetha—made history last year when they joined Kalamandalam as the first group of female students to study Kathakali acting.

This year, when 14-year-old Sabri N took admission in standard eight, history was mingled with a fair share of politics too. Sabri, daughter of Nizam Ammaz, an award-winning photographer from Kollam district of Kerala, is the first Muslim girl to join the revered institution.

She had developed a passion for Kathakali from the photographs her father took.

In a conversation with The Federal, Nizam Ammaz recounts how Sabri fell in love with Kathakali. “As a photographer, I used to take pictures of Kathakali performances in the Mahadeva temple in our locality. When I showed the pictures to my six-year-old daughter, she wanted to watch the performance. From then onwards, we started watching it together regularly,” he says.

Nizam also recalls that his daughter was “overjoyed” when he asked her whether she wanted to learn Kathakali. She began her training with Aromal, a Chadaymangalam native and former ad hoc teacher of Kalamandalam, after he had agreed to teach her.

This time when they applied in Kalamandalam, there were already six students, he points out. “But the faculty took special interest in her and admitted her,” says Nizam.

Sabri is over the moon after being accepted as a student at Kalamandalam. She is extremely articulate for an eighth grader and enjoys giving interviews to the media as well.

Talking about pursuing her love for Kathakali, Sabri says, “I chose this because Kathakali is something I really enjoy. I have no objections to understanding and presenting Hindu mythology as an artistic endeavour. I’m still learning, so I’m not familiar with all the subtleties of this art form.”

She says that she enjoys essaying the role of Krishna the most. “Everyone on campus, including the professors and students, are cool. Everyone is really kind and accommodating,” she says with a wide smile.

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Hindu, Muslim or Christian does not matter to us: Kalamandalam

The image of hijab-clad Sabri seeking the blessings of Kalamandalam Gopi Asaan during the induction ceremony went viral on social media, with a lot of people showering praise on her. She has been admitted to the Kathakali acting course in southern style. There are two schools of Kathakali – southern and northern based on their style of performance.

Ravikumar, the head of the department for acting, southern style, Kerala Kalamandalam points out, “Her religion—whether Hindu, Muslim, or Christian—does not matter to us; she is simply another student. Given that Hindu mythology makes up the majority of Kathakali literature, it’s their call. We are always willing to teach anyone who is interested if they have no objections to studying it.”

No head scarf

Meanwhile, her father Nizam admits that Sabri joined Kalamandalam with her headscarf on. “But since we are aware that it is a place where certain etiquette must be observed, particularly when wearing a uniform, we have no issue with her not wearing it. She has her Madrassa education also and nobody has opposed her passion in dance and the art form Kathakali. After all, each person’s religious convictions are private and do not need to be publicly displayed,” states Nizam.

According to Ravikumar, it’s a fact that people who want to revive the caste system and stringent religious practices are still out there. “We cannot do anything about it. But as far as the faculty is concerned, we do not have that even in our thoughts,” he affirms.

Discrimination continues

Ravikumar narrates an incident when one of their artists faced discrimination on the basis of caste. “One of our greenroom artists had a problem recently. He had been with our troupe for 22 years. Last season, while performing at a particular place, obviously an upper caste Hindu place, someone saw his AADHAR card and got to know his religious identity. Now, the organisers want him to stay out if we perform at that place next time. This kind of mindset still exists,” he laments.

Even the legendary Kalamandalam Hyderali had to deal with this kind of religious prejudice before MKK Nair, the former chairman of Kalamandalam, offered him a faculty position at the FACT school. But, subsequently, the situation changed and temple officials were ready to demolish their compound wall to allow Hyderali to sing for a Kathakali performance. The temple’s customs did not allow non-Hindus to enter the courtyard.

Mansiya, a Bharatanatyam dancer, also encountered social exclusion once she studied classical dance, which was against the rules of her faith.

However, Sabri refuses to let all this negativity bog her down. She seems singularly focussed on her dance and is absolutely convinced that nothing will stand in her way as she follows her passion in one of the premier institutions in the country.