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SPG scuttles martial arts shows for PM

George Iype in Kumarakom

The security overkill during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's week of rest and relaxation in Kerala appears certain to prevent him from enjoying some of the state's traditional folk and martial arts.

Vajpayee was eager to witness some of the splendid folk art forms of the state during his weeklong sojourn in the backwater resort of Kumarakom.

But the Special Protection Group, the agency in charge of his security, has denied him the shows.

Security officials say the folk art form Theyyam and the martial art Kalaripayattu, which use spears, daggers, swords, lighted torches and other weapons, are high-risk cultural programmes and the prime minister should desist from seeing them.

So security officials on Wednesday cancelled the presentation of Theyyam that Vajpayee was to witness in the evening. Instead, he will watch a Mohiniyattam dance programme by artistes of the Kochi Cultural Centre led by Usha Menon.

But the ensemble of traditional artistes, which had been practising for many days to perform before the prime minister, is upset. "Isn't it absurd to suggest that the performance of Theyyam is a security risk for the prime minister," asked artiste Govind Narayanan.

Narayanan said denigrating Kerala's folk art forms in the name of security had come as "a cultural shock for the artistes and other performers". The disappointed Theyyam artistes, who had been preparing to perform before the prime minister for the last two weeks, packed their bags on Wednesday as they were denied permission to enter the Taj Retreat.

But officials pointed out that the presence of weapons in the traditional folk art forms poses a threat to the prime minister's security. "The problem lies with the attire of the artistes. For instance, the Theyyam artistes carry all forms of weapons and lighted torches in their hands. Such a group cannot perform before the prime minister as per our rules," an SPG official told rediff.com

Theyyam is Kerala's most famous folk art, especially in the northern region. This primitive ritualistic art represents a mythological, divine or heroic character. The Theyyam artistes' attire consists of a hood, headdress, face painting, breastplate, bracelets and garlands, all meticulously crafted.

In similar fashion, the guillotine of security is expected to fall on the Kalaripayattu programme. The Kalaripayattu experts are slated to perform before the prime minister on Sunday. Kalaripayattu is a martial art in which the performers use varied weapons such as a short stick, spear, dagger and sword.

Officials of the Taj Retreat said Vajpayee's second day of vacation at Kumarakom began with a group of ayurvedic physicians examining his knees. Though Vajpayee underwent replacement surgery of the left knee at Bombay's Breach Candy Hospital in October, doctors have advised special ayurvedic treatment too. A team of experts will apply a combination of dhara (oils) consisting of narayana thailam, dhanwantharam and sahajarathy on the knee.

The rejuvenating oil massage will also be applied on Vajpayee's right knee, which suffers from mild osteoarthritic pain.

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