Dance for Kuthu Pattu inside Kapaleeswarar temple

BY PRAKASH M SWAMY

A viral video of two choreographers performing a Kuthu dance

to a film song in the Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore has

enraged devotees, who have expressed their anger and

disappointment over the way the temple is being administered

The video in which Vignesh K. Balan and Tejas Haridas are seen

performing a Kuthu dance was said to have been shot

sometime in December inside the temple, which is under the

control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments

(HR&CE) Department.

“Sri Kapaleeswarar temple is in the news for quite some time

now though for wrong reasons. There are enough and

adequate security in the temple and also the security cameras

are in place all over the temple. How can we allow this to

happen,” wondered Rajalakshmi, a resident of Mandaveli and a

regular visitor to the temple for six decades.

Despite all these arrangements, how come the dance video

was recorded in the evening when people throng in large

numbers? It’s strange that no one questioned or stopped

them,” says P Kamalakannan, a devotee.

Scores of devotees were outraged over the dance performance

and said the temple management can’t wash their hands off.”If

it happens inside the temple, the EO should be morally take

responsibility and get at the whole truth.

The song chosen was “Mylapore Mayile Oru Iragu Podu”

In the temple, the ambal is supposed to be the peacock, and

she is said to have performed puja to Lord Kapaleeswarar to

marry Him. The video was in poor taste to say the least.

Criminal action must be taken against both the officials for

neglect of duty, and on those who made the video and made it

viral. These acts could be part of anti Hindu campaigns,” says K

Varadarajan Iyengar of Chitrakulam.

“Use of mobile phones should be banned inside all the Hindu

temples like in Tirupati or Madurai to prevent people from

using the temple premises as a public park.

Often we see couples or lovers sitting in compromising

positions inside the Kapaleeswarar temple and devotees

wonder what the security guards are doing. We do not know

whether they report for duty or take their jobs easy,” says G

Murugesan of North Mada Street.

Meanwhile the choreographers in a video posted on social

media, apologized for their actions and said that the video had

been deleted. The HR&CE Department, in a press release,

stated that photo and video were banned inside the temple.

The temple authorities have filed a complaint with the Cyber

Crime Police seeking action against the choreographers and to

take down their Instagram pages.