A few days after popular Bharatanatyam dancer Mansiya V.P. was barred from performing at a temple in Kerala’s Thrissur district as she is non-Hindu, another dancer,Soumya Sukumaran, claimed that she was asked not to perform at the same temple because she is a Christian.
Sukumaran said when the authorities of Koodalmanikyam temple asked her she told them that she is a Christian. “They replied ‘non-Hindus’ can’t perform there.” The dance programme was scheduled for April 21.
“I told them my father was a Hindu and converted to Christianity after marriage. They said had the venue been outside the temple, there would have been no problem, but since this programme will be conducted inside, it would be difficult. I stepped back then,” news agency ANI quoted her as saying.
Art has no religion, Sukumaran she said, adding, “Had artists belonged to a religion, all of us would perform only on devotional songs. I have complaints from my community also. I was denied religious services from the church as I performed in temples on a Hindu devotional song”
Earlier, Mansiya, in a Facebook post, had said one of the trustees of the Koodalmanikyam temple called her to inform that she will not be allowed to perform Bharatanatyam, scheduled for April 21, as she is not a Hindu. She pointed out that art forms and artists are intertwined with religions in Kerala.
This article first appeared on theweek.in
