A Kerala artist is facing a ban to participate in a ritual dance performance in north Kerala because his son married a Muslim girl.
The poorakali artist, Vinod Panickar, alleged that Bhagavati temple authorities in Karivellur (Kannur district) told him that he could not participate in the dance ritual as he lives in the same house where his non-Hindu daughter-in-law also stays and it was against the ritual and customs of the temple. The programme was held on Monday night but Panickar opened about the incident on Tuesday.
“Some of them even told me that if I shift from the house for a few days I will be allowed to participate in the function which I have been performing for the last 37 years, but I refused” he said. Panickar said some members were quite adamant so he decided to participate in the function only as a spectator. Poorakali is a ritual dance blended with rhythmic dance, songs and martial art and it is performed during the Malayalam month of “Meenam” to propitiate Devi.
“I told the temple authorities bluntly that I cannot abandon my son and daughter-in-law to satisfy some officials. I have been performing at the temple for 37 years and I can’t digest this humiliation,” he said.
Panickar said his son had married a Muslim girl last year and it was high time for the society to change. “I am a staunch follower of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru who always taught one religion, one caste and one god. It is sad some of them still nurse a communal mindset in the name of customs,” he said.
The temple committee, however, justified its action saying it was part of the age-old custom and Panickar was not banned but he took the decision on his own when some office-bearers raised objections. Interestingly Karivellur is a Marxist bastion and a peasant uprising took place here seven decades ago. Senior CPI(M) leader E P Jayarajan condemned the decision of the temple and said the party will look into it. The party youth wing, Democratic Youth Federation of India, also organised a protest meeting on Tuesday evening.
