Kolkata-based Sarod player flees Bangladesh, hides identity after his concert venue is vandalised in Dhaka
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Kolkata-based Sarod player flees Bangladesh, hides identity after his concert venue is vandalised in Dhaka")
Shiraz Ali Khan
Kolkata-based sarod player Shiraz Ali Khan had to flee Bangladesh after his concert venue in Chhayanaut was vandalised. Shiraz had a harrowing time on his journey back home.
Kolkata-based sarod player Shiraz Ali Khan had a harrowing experience recently in Dhaka, Bangladesh, after a prominent cultural venue was vandalised hours before his scheduled performance. The musician was scheduled to perform at Chhayanaut on December 19, but due to the ongoing tensions in the country, he had to cut short his visit.
The attack on the venue came amid widespread disturbances following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, described as a radical figure associated with last year’s anti-Hasina protests. Shiraz got to know about the vandalism in the morning of the day of his concert.
“I couldn’t believe the building where I was meant to perform had been destroyed. Seeing the images was deeply disturbing,” he reportedly told Times of India. Shiraz said that the incident left him too shaken to stay in Dhaka.
Shiraz had arrived in Dhaka on December 16 and performed at a jazz concert in Banani the next day. The musician stated that the evening had fewer than 20 people in attendance. His classical concert, which was set to take place on December 19, never took place. Instead, he began planning his exit from the country as tensions escalated.
Shiraz had to hide his identity while heading home
Shiraz revealed that his journey back to India, too, was riddled by anxiety. While Shiraz returned to Kolkata on Saturday, his tabla accompanist remains stranded in Dhaka and hopes to leave early this week.
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Other artistes who travelled with him are also stuck. At a checkpoint on the way to the airport, Shiraz was questioned about foreign currency.
Afraid of being targeted, he chose not to disclose his nationality. He spoke in the Brahmanbaria dialect he picked up from his mother, while his Indian passport and phone were concealed by the driver. “I never imagined I would have to hide who I am,” he said.
While Shiraz is Indian, based in Kolkata, he has ties in Bangladesh. He is the son of Ustad Dhyanesh Khan, grandson of sarod legend Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and great-grandson of Baba Allauddin Khan from Brahmanbaria.
Reflecting on past and present attacks, he said, “Years ago, a college named after my great-grandfather in Brahmanbaria was attacked. But the vandalism of Chhayanaut is an unimaginable assault on our culture and shared values.”
Shiraz revealed his mother is in Bangladesh, along with several Hindu accompanists whose identities he has not disclosed for safety reasons. He made it clear that he would not return until artists feel secure and cultural spaces are safeguarded once again.
