Three eminent classical dancers have pulled out of their scheduled performances at a Kerala temple in solidarity with a fellow dancer whose recital was cancelled because she is not a Hindu.

The Koodalmanikyam temple in Thrissur has scrapped a recital by Bharatanatyam dancer Mansiya V.P. who was born a Muslim but does not practise any faith.

Bharatanatyam dancers Anju Aravind, Karthik Manikandan and Devika Sajeevan, who were scheduled to perform at the National Music, Dance and Rhythm Festival — part of the temple’s annual fest — have announced their withdrawal.

“Yes, I have decided not to perform at the Koodalmanikyam dance festival,” Aravind wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday night.

Karthik Manikandan. The Telegraph

“Although the Koodalmanikyam temple says non-Hindus are not allowed to perform, they had accepted Mansiya’s application, asked for her photos, printed the programme schedule and then dropped her for the sole reason that she is not a believer (Hindu).”

Aravind was to perform for an hour from 7.15pm on April 21.

The temple had allotted Mansiya a one-hour slot from 4pm on April 21 after going through her application, which contained her biodata. Later, she received a call saying she had been dropped because she was not a Hindu.

Mansiya, who is married to Carnatic classical violinist Shyam Kalyan, has told this newspaper she does most of her performances at temples in Kerala and other southern states.

Anju Aravind. The Telegraph

Manikandan, who was allotted a slot from 6.45pm on April 17, wrote on Facebook he was pulling out “in solidarity with the artistes who (have been) sidelined from the Koodalmanikyam dance and music fest”.

He added: “Renowned artistes have been dropped after being selected. So what is our worth as artistes?”

Devika, scheduled to perform on April 24, too has pulled out. Her Facebook post said: “As I feel the need to stand with fellow artistes who faced unfortunate incidents, I choose to refrain from doing this performance at Koodalmanikyam dance festival….”

Sources said more artistes were contemplating withdrawing from the festival following the controversy.

Carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna has described the temple’s treatment of Mansiya as “utterly deplorable”.

“An artist cannot perform at a temple if she is non-Hindu? How parochial can we get? We are all systematically destroying India,” he wrote on Facebook.

Bharatanatyam dancer Methil Devika said: “(The world of) arts seems to be the only level playing field. Since when did it become this divided?”

Pradeep Menon, chairperson of the Koodalmanikyam Devaswom, the temple administration, has said in a statement that only Hindus have traditionally been allowed to perform at the festival.

He said Mansiya’s application had been accepted on the assumption that every applicant would be a Hindu since the temple allowed only Hindus to perform.

“But we had to regretfully reject it since the Devaswom is obliged to follow the temple’s traditions and practices,” he said.

Mansiya, who is pursuing a doctorate from the Kerala Kalamandalam, is a rising Bharatanatyam star. She has made it clear that she only wanted to dance, which is her form of worship, and not enter the temple.

“I didn’t say I wanted to enter the temple. My method of worship and prayer is my devotion to dance and arts,” she wrote on Facebook on Friday.

“When the initial invitation to the dance festival was withdrawn, I only questioned the reason they cited and the undignified manner in which the decision was communicated. I am an artist. I want to reiterate that art forms should not be allowed to be monopolised by religions. Arts and dance have no religion.”