Thursday, March 09, 2006

Bigotry Watch

Via BBC, Muslim girl dances social divide

The family of a young Muslim girl in India's southern state of Kerala say they are being shunned by the local mosque committee (mahallu) because she is practising Indian classical dance.

VP Rubiya, 16, came first in Bharatnatyam, Kerala natanam and folk dance competitions at the recent Kerala School Festival.
Now she has an offer from the celebrated Indian dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai's dance academy, Darpana, her father Syed Alavikutty says.

"God is one. When I pay ritualistic obeisance through mudras [hand signs], I am imploring not just the Hindu gods but the supreme creator, which we call by different names," she says.

The local mosque committee at Valluvambram, however, is not impressed by Rubiya's feats, says her father, a clerk with a travel agency.


It is the Hindu worship content in the classical dances that her family says has driven a chasm between her and conservative elements in the community.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

While that is true, we should also point you to this article about a Muslim performing Kathakali in Kerala.

http://varnachitram.com/2006/01/12/rip-kalamandalam-hyderali/

Primary Red said...

As a film buff -- although a Bollywood critic (!) -- this blogger found your blog very cool.

Best regards

Anonymous said...

Wonder why the BBC uses euphemisms to convey the point that Islam(ists) are not tolerant of any other culture. Conservative in the beebs language = backward/retrogressive?

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