KANNUR: Art knows no boundaries: It is beyond the barriers of race, religion, region, gender and age. Breaking the barriers of religion, Jumana Haseena, a Muslim girl from Alappuzha, has won A grade in nangiar koothu, the country’s oldest surviving Sanskrit theatre, deeply rooted in Hindu mythology. The 17-year-old girl achieved a rare feat on Saturday as she competed in the State School Youth Festival for the fourth consecutive year. She had won second and third prize in the previous competitions.
Jumana, a Grade XII student at VVHSS Thamarakulam, enthralled the audience at the fifth stage with her captivating performance, rendering the story of ‘Kaliyamardanam’.
“I was interested in learning these traditional art forms. My parents were very much supportive when I said I want to learn nangiar koothu. I did not feel any sort of discrimination on the basis of religion while performing at the school or participating in the youth festival,” she said. Apart from nangiar koothu, Jumana is a passionate exponent of bharathanatyam and kuchipudi. She has been learning these dance forms since seven years at Mahadevi Institute of Dance in Alappuzha.
“Jumana has been learning classical dance for the last seven years. She’s got talent and I see a bright future for her in classical dance; be it Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi or Nangiar Koothu,” said Anantha Padmanabhan, a dance teacher at the institute. She has been learning Nangiar Koothu under the guidance of her guru Kalamandalam Prasanna for the last four years.
“Dance forms like kuchipudi and nangiar koothu are mostly performed by a section of people in society. There is hardly any Muslim or Christian exponent who follows the classical dances passionately. When Jumana expressed her desire to learn classical dances, we didn’t have any apprehensions. Also, the teachers were supportive,” said Soudha Shajan, Jumana’s mother.