HISTORIAN SLAMS BAN ON PADMA SHRI NARAYANA PERUVANNAN

K K N KURUP, historian and former Vice-Chancellor of Calicut University, has voiced strong opposition to the ban imposed on Padma Shri awardee Narayana Peruvannan and 13 other theyyam artists by a section of the theyyam community.

- LAKSHMI ATHIRA @Kannur

The artists were barred from performing after they took part in a show in Ajman, the UAE, last month, a development first reported by TNIE.

Kurup condemned the move, calling it an attempt to restrict the art form to the Malabar rather than promoting it globally. He said no such objections were raised when artists performed theyyam in Delhi during the 1982 Asiad.

"Narthaka Rathnam Kannan Peruvannan led the team at the Asiad and went on to perform at venues outside Kerala, including Goa and Kolkata," Kurup said.