Indian musician had to change his name and hide his identity to save his life (Photo-X)
State Bureau, Jagran, Kolkata. During the violence in Bangladesh, the Indian musician had to change his name and hide his identity to save his life. Indian tabla player Mainak Biswas was able to safely return to his motherland from violence-hit Bangladesh after a 48-hour struggle, while the sarod artiste with whom he was to perform in Dhaka also managed to escape from the clutches of the anti-India mob.
Famous sarod player Siraj Ali Khan escaped from the clutches of the violent mob and returned to Kolkata. Ali Khan's concert was targeted and vandalized in Dhaka's Dhanmondi area, following which his scheduled concert was cancelled.
On reaching the city on Saturday night, the musician said that he had hidden his Indian identity while going to Dhaka airport, a decision taken out of compulsion as he had never imagined that he would have to do so.
Ali Khan's mother Ayesha and the rest of his team, including Mainak, who were stuck amid the ongoing unrest in the neighboring country, were able to return only on Monday, though they are still haunted by worries and painful memories.
Vishwas said that I have been to Bangladesh many times before, but I have never encountered a situation where such a feeling of tension and hostility could be felt among a section of the local people.
He recalled that after the violence broke out on the intervening night of 18-19 December, I remained confined to the hotel room most of the time and restricted my movements to the hotel lobby. But, when I was forced to step out for some urgent need, I took full care of hiding my Indian identity and changed my name to something that sounded like a Muslim name.
Khan said that it was during the rehearsal session at the hotel that he came to know that the venue of his scheduled classical concert, on December 19, was attacked by a frenzied mob the next day. Khan left Dhaka the very next day.