Mansiya V. P.

🪔 About

Mansiya V. P., born in 1995 in Velluvampuram, Malappuram, Kerala, is a distinguished Indian classical dancer specializing in Bharatanatyam. She began her dance journey at the age of three, encouraged by her mother, Amina V. P., and supported by her father, Syed Alavikutty, a theatre artist. Mansiya and her elder sister, Rubiya, also a dancer, received training in various classical forms including Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam, Kerala Nadanam, and Kathakali from teachers such as Sarojini, RLV Anand, Bharatanjali Sasi, and Puthur Pramodh Das. Her early career saw her as a consistent A grade winner in Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Keralanatanam at the Kerala State School Youth Festival from Class 8 to 12. She was also twice awarded the "Kalathilakam" for best female performer at the Calicut University youth festival. Mansiya completed her undergraduate studies at N.S.S College, Manjeri, and earned a first-division M.A. in Bharatanatyam from the University of Madras. She is currently a PhD research scholar in Bharatanatyam at the prestigious Kerala Kalamandalam. Mansiya V. P. has faced significant social ostracism from orthodox elements within the Muslim community due to her pursuit of classical dance, which led to the denial of her mother's burial in the local mosque cemetery around 2007. Despite identifying as having no religion, she has also encountered exclusion from some Hindu temples, notably being barred from performing at the Guruvayur temple festival in 2019 and the Koodalmanikyam Temple in 2022, due to her non-Hindu identity. In December 2022, Mansiya was elected as one of the 26 members of the council of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. She is married to Hindu musician Shyam Kalyan and runs her own institution, the Agneya School of Dance, which she launched around 2016. Awards & Honours: Kalathilakam, A grade winner.