For artists from India, the Easter Sunday scare at Cleveland in Ohio — venue of the annual Thyagaraja Festival in the U.S. — came as a shock.
As the Ohio police launched a hunt for an armed killer, who had shot an unarmed senior citizen and threatened to shoot more in a video posted on Facebook, Indian musicians spent the larger part of Sunday afternoon and evening inside the locked music building of the Cleveland State University (where the performances were scheduled) or inside hotels where practice sessions were on.
The Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival is the largest Indian classical music festival outside of India. It was first celebrated in 1978 and is in its 40th year.
Caught unawares
“Since the killer seemed to be targeting pedestrians, the police had locked people inside whichever building they were in. We were asked to stay put inside an Indian restaurant in the downtown area and our son Pranavkrishna Ramasubramanian was inside a hotel conference hall practising for his performance on Monday morning. We were then allowed to go to the hotel where he was and had to remain there till late in the evening,” said Gayathri Ram, an IT professional who had travelled with her husband and son from Nebraska for the festival.
Vocalist and founder of Carnatica K.N. Shashikiran said that many among the audience went into panic as news about the killer filtered in. “Many of them haven’t even come out of their rooms as yet on Monday morning. One violinist even collapsed due to the scare on Sunday evening. But by the time 911 came, she went back to her room and refused to go to hospital,” he said.
Courage under fire
Though some artists were delayed en route the performance hall, the concerts continued, he said, adding that the music kept the rasikas inside the auditorium. “Though there was a lot of panic, the organisers showed a lot of courage and ensured the safety of everyone. Food was also served on Sunday night at the auditorium,” Mr. Shashikiran said.
Vocalist Sudha Raghunathan, who was not at the venue during the actual lockdown, said she was anxious for everyone there. “I texted a lot of them and enquired about how the situation was. They told me that the concerts were going on and but for the fact that all doors were locked, all was well,” she said.
Over 250 artists from India and the U.S. have congregated at the festival that began on April 12 and is scheduled to go on till April 23.
Since the winners of various competitions were to be feted on Sunday, hundreds of parents and students had congregated at the venue.
