After Kalamandalam Sathyabhama made “casteist” statements about classical dance artists, controversy broke out in Kerala.
R.L.V. Ramakrishnan, a Mohiniyattam performer, says he is the most recent victim of “institutionalized upper-class privilege” in the classical dance world. This comes after Kalamandalam Sathyabhama said recently that Mohiniyattam was traditionally performed best by performers with “fanciful looks and pale skin tones.”
G AnandG Anand
Sathyabhama Kalamandalam (file)
The photo credit for Kalamandalam Sathyabhama (file) is Special Arrangements.
On March 21 (Thursday), Mohiniyattam artist R.L.V. Ramakrishnan claimed to be the latest victim of supposedly institutionalized upper-class privilege in the haloed halls of traditional dance, sparking a discussion about whether casteism corrodes the world of classical arts in Kerala.
According to Mr. Ramakrishnan, Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, a proponent of Mohiniyattam, attempted to make “fair complexion and agreeable looks” a prerequisite for performing arts, which was “brazenly racist and insulting” to artists from underprivileged and marginalized communities.
Ms. Sathyabhama recently stated on a social media channel that artists with “fanciful looks and pale skin tones” are typically the greatest at performing Mohiniyattam, without mentioning any specific artist.
Additionally, it is said that she believed those who “resemble crows and are resented by their mothers for their looks” were at best also-rans and had no place in the classical dance.
Position upheld
At her Thiruvananthapuram home, Ms. Sathyabhama responded to television reporters by defending her position in a somewhat confrontational manner.
The performer claimed that she had not intended to offend any individual, caste, or color when she cited the precepts of the ancient Indian performance arts text Natyashastra. She added that she was afraid of not being prosecuted for being honest.
An organization of progressive authors, painters, and literature lovers called Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham has denounced Ms. Sathyabhama’s remarks and asked that the police look into her claims that artists from Dalit groups are inferior.
The controversy brought to light the challenges that artists from marginalized communities experienced when navigating the purportedly hierarchical realm of classical arts.
spirited public discussion
It also sparked a contentious public discussion on whether Kerala’s progressive fine arts scene was rife with inherent biases of this kind.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition, and the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government all backed Mr. Ramakrishnan and denounced the purportedly casteist statements.
In a social media post, Kerala’s Minister of Higher Education R. Bindu claimed that certain people continued to have “a decayed feudal mindset.”
She said that society would treat their color- and caste-biased views with the mockery they so richly deserved.
According to Ms. Bindu, artists like Mr. Ramakrishnan have “liberated Mohinyattam from the ignominy of being an art form that objectified the feminine form for the amusement of erstwhile feudal lords” with their nuanced and evocative performances.
She claimed that Mohiniyattam had been freed from the “chains of licentious mudras and elevated into a more sublime classical art form” by Mr. Ramakrishnan.
According to Ms. Bindu, caste was not influenced by disparities in gender, ethnicity, or color. She remarked, “In the world of classical arts, Mr. Ramakrishnan stands tall.”
If Mr. Ramakrishnan preferred a complaint, Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes K. Radhakrishnan stated that the police will file a case.
On his Facebook page, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan shared a picture of Mr. Ramakrishnan with actor Kalabhavan Mani, the late brother of the former.
