Catholic Church in Kerala up in arms about a play critical of nunnery: report

Thiruvananthapuram: A play that portrays the sorry situation of a nun inside a convent after she was forced into the ascetic order raises heckles of Catholic in Kerala.

Believers led by Thamarassery diocese had taken out a protest march against the play 'Kakkukali’ (Hopscotch game) to its venue at Edachery in Kozhikode on Saturday, April 29, The News Minute reported.

The play, scripted by KB Ajayakumar and directed by Job Madathil based on a short story by Francis Noronha, is being presented by threatre troupe Neythal Nataka Sangham of Alappuzha.

The Thamarassery Bishop Remigius Inchananiyil in statement accused political leaders and media of neglecting the church’s concerns.

The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) said it would continue protest against the play across the state.

The play revolves around the protagonist Natalia who was forced into a nunnery to escape poverty, compromising with her father’s communist past which she adores.

The grim environs of the convent takes the sheen out of her and is often punished even for small mistakes. Natalia she comes out of it, to embrace freedom.

The makers of the play claim that the play is not against religion but says it calls into question institutions that restrict women’s freedom.

Michael Pulickal, Secretary, KCBC Jagratha Commission, criticized ‘Left-leaning organisations and political activists’ for promoting the play ‘Kakkukali’,which he claimed insulting Christian asceticism.

‘Despite strong protests, the intention of some people to promote the play in the name of freedom of expression is to insult the Christian community. The Christian community will be forced to hold state-wide protests if they go ahead with more performances. The government should urgently stop the exhibition of this play which is a stain on cultural Kerala,” Michael Pulickal, was quoted as saying.

The Catholic Church has a long history of going hammer and tongs after plays that were thought to be critical of the establishment with most notable example being the play 'Kristhuvinte Aaraam Thirumurivu (The Sixth Wound of Christ).

The play, scripted by PM Antony of the Suryakanthi Theatres of Alleppey based on Nikos Kazantzakis’ ‘The Last Temptation of Christ', faced the ire of the church and later a court ban even before it was first staged in 1986, according to the report.

In 1990 the Kottayam district administration, when Alphons Kannanthanam was the district collector, banned the Rock opera 'Jesus Christ Superstar' at Pallikoodam School run by Mary Roy, following protests. The ban was lifted by the Supreme Court 25 years later in 2015.