Art has no boundaries or laws. It transcends the rules and irrespective of gender, race, religion, or class. Yet, it is regrettable that artists themselves seek to create an impression that their art is not for all and attempt to build walls. An example is the despicable comments passed by Kerala-based dancer Kalamandalam Sathyabhama against a fellow dancer from the state, which set off a debate.
Indirectly referring to Mohiniyattam dancer R L V Ramakrishnan without naming him, Sathyabhama said he has the “colour of a crow” and men who perform the dance form should be fair-skinned. “Even the mother who gave birth to him cannot bear his looks,” she said in an interview to a YouTube channel and then stood by her comments when faced with backlash.
While Sathyabhama’s views deserve thorough condemnation, the fact is they are reflective of the deep-rooted sense of casteism, classism, and racism prevalent in Kerala’s cultural society that claims to be progressive but is yet to let go of the feudal mindset. Not long back, acclaimed filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan had to resign as chairman of K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts after students alleged caste discrimination by its director.
The renowned performing arts centre Kerala Kalamandalam did not have students belonging to lower castes for courses like Kathakali, chenda and maddalam, deemed to be the domain of the forward communities, till about a decade ago. A controversy erupted in 2013 when permission was denied for the performance of Gurudeva Mahatmyam, a Kathakali play depicting the life of Sree Narayana Guru, venerated by the Ezhava community, at a temple.
Even today, most Kathakali performers belong to forward communities. While film actors like Vinayakan and Manikandan Achary have talked about discrimination based on caste and colour in the industry, Dalit folk singers say they face both abuse and pay disparity.
The casteist undertones in Sathyabhama’s apparently racist comments cannot be ignored, given how skin colour is associated with caste and class in India, and Ramakrishnan, who has a PhD in Mohiniyattam, belongs to a Scheduled Caste. While the remarks are particularly reprehensible because they came from an artist and the base outlook they exposed is a disgrace to her art community, it’s a moment of retrospection for the people of Kerala. The dancer must face the consequences and society must see this as an opportunity to set right historical wrongs.