Dancer denied temple performance: Shashi Tharoor expresses disappointment, says art overruled by religion

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday expressed disappointment over an atheist dancer being denied permission to perform at the famed Koodalmanikyam temple in Kerala saying art has no religion or caste but it has been overruled by religion in this matterMansiya V P a Bharatanatyam dancer and a PhD research scholar in classical dance on Monday took to Facebook claiming the temple officials denied her permission to perform despite her name being printed in the programme noticeThe temple officials claimed that she was denied permission as the temple tradition does not allow a nonHindu to enter the premisesAsked about the issue Tharoor said as a Hindu and a citizen of India he is disappointed with this decisionArt has no religion or caste but here art has been overruled by religion Tharoor told PTIOther faiths go out of their way to attract others to respect their religion throwing open the doors of mosques churches gurdwaras and synagogues to all he saidAs a public representative in Thiruvananthapuram I have attended Christmas Eve Mass at St Josephs Cathedral celebrated Eid at Palayams Juma Masjid and been received with honour at the sacred sites of every Christian sect the Lok Sabha MP saidI have walked on the hallowed ground of the AlAqsa Mosque in Jerusalem offered prayers alongside Jewish friends at the Wailing Wall there and bowed my head at the Church of the Nativity While some Hindu temples are equally welcoming some are not and I deplore their attitude he saidTharoor noted that temple board chairman Pradeep Menon explained that the decision is in keeping with the existing tradition at the templeTraditions of course change with the times it was also the existing tradition at every temple to deny Dalits entry a century ago but that is an unthinkable thought today I can understand reluctance to permit access to outsiders to the sanctum sanctorum where an idol has been installed with a prathishtha he saidBut a dance on the temple premises Surely Mansiya who dances with reverence and talent is no threat to the sanctity of the place Tharoor assertedHe said this is not the religion of vasudaiva kutumbakam the world is one family and sarva dharma sambahava all religions are the same These are rules made by smallminded men that reflect their prejudices and not the inclusive spirit of a great faith Tharoor saidEarlier responding to a tweet which claimed that he was being selective in his criticism as a judge had also stopped the Mohiniattam dance in Palakkad halfway through Tharoor said on Twitter I deplore that as well all the more so since the judge was acting in his own interest he claimed the music was disturbing him since he lived next door Neena Prasad is one of the most famous Mohiniattam exponents and deserved better than to be so rudely interrupted by policeMansiya born a Muslim was to perform at the 10day National Festival of Dance and Music organised by the Koodalmanikyam temple to be held from April 15 to 25 Around 800 artists are expected to perform at the temple during the festThe organisers phoned me and told me that I cannot perform When asked why they said nonHindus are not allowed in the temple I said it is a national dance festival I also said that I am a human being Mansiya told the mediaI told them that even though I was born a Muslim I dont follow any religion The official asked whether I have converted to Hinduism as I have married one I told them that I dont have a religion to get converted to she had saidMansiya is married to musician Shyam KalyanThe classical dancer told the official that she was not coming to offer her prayers at the temple but to perform BharatanatyamIf they had told me that my performance was not up to the mark then I would have been happy because thats how Kerala treats the artistes But this was not like that I have performed at numerous venues and most of them are in temples she had saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever