KOCHI: On stage, clad in the traditional off-white and gold kasavu sari, Husna Bhanu Sunnajan moves with measured grace to the rhythm of the mridangam.
Off stage, her life tells a far more restless story – of resistance, quiet courage, and an unshakeable belief that art transcends faith.
At 65, Husna carries the distinction of being the first Malayali Muslim woman to graduate from Kerala Kalamandalam.
Four decades ago, in the deeply conservative Kerala of the 1970s, such an achievement was both improbable and unsettling, to her community, and at times, even to the art world she embraced.
“I entered dance almost by accident,” Husna recalls. “My father’s friend had got an application form for a dance class for his daughter. When she didn’t join, I did. I have never stopped learning since.”
Her formal initiation into mohiniyattam came under Kalamandalam Kshemavathy. After just 10 days of training, Husna performed in her arangettam. “I wanted to do justice to the art. Performing without mistakes was always important to me,” she tells TNIE.
While trained in multiple classical forms, mohiniyattam became her love. “The gentle lasya, the fluid movements, the subtle expressions…it all drew me in completely,” she says.
Husna credits her father, Habib Khan, for being a pillar of constant support during challenging times. His own life was shaped by defiance. Having been ostracised for marrying a Hindu woman, he stood firmly by his daughter when she chose a path few Muslim women dared to tread. “Art has no religion,” Husna says.
“It is a medium of expression given to all, irrespective of faith.”
Support, however, was far from universal. Husna recalls being criticised for not wearing the hijab regularly, being renounced by her mosque, and facing whispers that followed her wherever she went.
Even performance spaces closed their doors – stages near temples were often off-limits to her.
Yet, she persisted, not just for herself, but for those who could not. “Many girls had talent, but were forced to stop because of pressure from family or religious leaders,” she says.
In the 1980s, Husna founded Nritha Kalanjaly, a dance academy rooted in spiritual understanding, where students begin not with steps, but with stories – mythology, characters, emotions. “Only when you understand the lore can the movement have meaning,” she explains. The walls of her studio are adorned with a kuthuvilakku and Hindu iconography, symbols she treats not as religious markers, but as part of the cultural language of classical dance.
Her legacy continues through her family. Her daughter, Shabana Shafeekudeen, the second Muslim woman from Kerala Kalamandalam, is an accomplished bharatanatyam, mohiniyattam and kuchipudi dancer. Shabana performs alongside her husband, B K Shafeekudeen, under the stage names Radhamadhavan and The Muslim Dancing Couple.
Across four decades, Husna has trained several noted performers, including Bhavana, Sruthy Jayan and Aparna Balamurali. Her contributions have been recognised with honours such as the Kaladharpanam award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi’s Guru Pooja Award, and the Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award.
The story is reported by Chandana M K of The New Indian Express