After racist remark row, Kerala Kalamandalam admits students cutting across genders

THRISSUR: In a path-breaking move, Kerala Kalamandalam, the prestigious deemed-to-be university for art and culture, decided on Wednesday to admit students to its various courses regardless of gender. An executive meeting held on campus unanimously approved the decision, which will be implemented in the next academic year, the university registrar said in a statement.

With this decision, men, women and transgenders can now enroll in all the courses offered by Kalamandalam, including classical dance forms such as "Mohiniyattam," which had been strictly reserved for women until now, a Kalamandalam source said. The executive meeting was attended by vice-chancellor B Ananthakrishnan and various dance exponents, including Kalamandalam Gopi, Kalamandalam Kshemavathi, Dr Neena Prasad and so on. The eminent institution took the historic decision at a time when the state has been witnessing a raging row over recent racist remarks made by a senior Mohiniyattam dancer against a fellow artist on a YouTube channel.

As the video of the racial remarks by Sathyabhama went viral on social media and was aired on news channels last week, noted Mohiniyattam dancer Dr RLV Ramakrishnan had alleged that her comments were directed at him, and threatened to initiate legal action against her. The video and her subsequent statements defending what she had said were severely criticised by many on social media, cutting across political lines.

The Kerala Kalamandalam, a premier public institution that preserves Kerala's artistic heritage, had also condemned Sathyabhama's remarks. Ramakrishnan performed "Mohiniyattam" at Kalamandalam on Tuesday after being invited by its student's union.