However, Mansiya V P, 27, a Bharatanatyam research scholar and classical dancer, has been a victim of religious apartheid.
Digital Desk: One community shunned her for following her passion of becoming a classical dancer. Another refused her a platform because she was not a member of that faith. She had no desire to upset the foundations of tradition or to tear down religious barriers.
However, Mansiya V P, 27, a Bharatanatyam research scholar and classical dancer, has been a victim of religious apartheid. Mansiya, who was born into a traditional Muslim family in Malappuram, had to leave her religion after clerics refused to bury her mother Amina at the communal graveyard because her children were dancers.
On Sunday, Mansiya had another shock when an official from the Koodalmanikyam temple in Irinjalakuda informed her that she would be unable to perform in the temple's National Festival of Dance and Music, which would be held from April 15 to 25, because she doesn't belong to the Hindu community.
We're only adhering to tradition: Temple officials stated.
"I learned about the event via email and applied with a thorough biodata." A temple official phoned me on the phone to confirm my participation. "No one ever asked me about my faith before I scheduled my event from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on April 21," she claimed.
Mansiya stated that an official from the temple called her on Sunday and informed her that she could not perform at the temple because she is not a practising Hindu. "The individual who phoned me stated that non-Hindus are not permitted to do dancing at the temple." He inquired as to why I did not convert to Hinduism after marrying a Hindu (Shyam Kalyan).
My husband's family is Hindu, but they have never forced their religion on me. I'm not a Hindu or a Muslim. "Is there no place for a non-believer in our society?" Mansiya inquired. Pradeep Menon, chairman of Koodalmanikyam Devaswom, stated that he was only following temple custom. "Non-Hindus are not permitted on the temple grounds."
"We're sorry to deny her the opportunity, but we have to respect the temple's age-old custom," he explained. Manysiya's mother, Amina, was a classical arts enthusiast who wanted to instruct her two daughters, Rubiya and Manysiya, in bharathanatyam, mohiniyattom, kathakali, and Kerala nadanam. The girls went on to perform admirably on stage.
However, the community did not consider the violation of religious limitations. When Amina was battling cancer, the religious clerics rejected a mahal committee suggestion to obtain financial support from outside for her treatment. Amina was denied a plot in the municipal cemetery and was buried in her hometown. But Mansiya's father, Alavikutty, held firm and encouraged the daughters to follow their dreams.
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