Kozhikode Dancer Mansiya V.P. , who was denied permission to perform at the Koodalmanikyam temple at Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, will perform in Kozhikode the same day she was supposed to perform at the temple.
The Manjadikkuru theatre collective under Red Youngs, Vellimadukunnu, is hosting the programme at Kozhikode Town Hall at 6 p.m. on April 21 as a form of protest against the injustice meted out to her by a “secular” governing body of the Koodalmanikyam temple, at Irinjalakuda in Thrissur.
In a statement issued in connection with the announcement, Red Youngs flayed the attitude of the government that claims to be secular, citing the ban of non-Brahmins as cooks a the Guruvayur temple earlier. Mansiya was denied permission to perform at the temple even after her name was printed on the festival brochure, claiming that the temple did not support non-Hindus performing on the temple premises.
Ironically, Mansiya, though born a Muslim, had denied faith in any religion and had been living a life accordingly, the statement said.
