PALAKKAD: Acting allegedly at the behest of a top judge in the district, police have forced organisers to abandon a cultural programme midway despite having all the required permissions from authorities. The event was organised by Friends’ Collective (Souhruda Kootayma) of the Sekharipuram library on Saturday last at the Government Moyan LP School. The judge stays near the school.
“The programme started at 6pm and we had mike permission till 10pm. At 8.30pm, police arrived and asked us to stop the programme. At that time, danseuse Dr Neena Prasad was presenting a mohiniyattom recital titled “Sakhyam” with just a violin to provide the bakground score. The highlight of the dance was about to begin and only 15 minutes were needed to round up the event. We requested them to give that much time, but police turned down our request saying there was pressure from a district judge,” said C V Jose, president of the Shekharipuram library.
Dr Neena Prasad also felt dejected at the turn of events, he said. The Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham on Monday protested against the police action. In a signed statement, its president Shaji N Karun and secretary Ashokan Cheruvil said of late religious and fundamentalist groups have acquired influence in many parts of the world and in India.
These groups are highly intolerant towards art and literary events . Recently certain people were irked by red flags and banners installed in Kochi city. All those in power should remember one thing: India has a constitution which respects art, creativity and the rights of citizens .
The lives of performing artistes had taken a beating due to the back-to-back floods and Covid. These artistes are slowly returning to their old self as stages have started becoming live. People are now eagerly attending cultural events. In this context, the threats against creative forms of art should be resisted by the people, the statement added.