So, Sami did cave in and visited India on a month-long tourist visa, hosted by Bhosle, for whom he planned to compose an album. I came literally think I d compose and produce an album for her, and go back So, Sami did cave in and visited India on a month-long tourist visa, hosted by Bhosle, for whom he planned to compose an album. I came literally think I d compose and produce an album for her, and...
So, Sami did cave in and visited India on a month-long tourist visa, hosted by Bhosle, for whom he planned to compose an album. “I came literally think I’d compose and produce an album for her, and go back. So, I came literally with enough clothes for a month, and ended up staying for the rest of my life,” Sami tells SCREEN, laughing.
That wasn’t the first time he visited India though. Since his mother was from Jammu, she had friends in Delhi and Mumbai. So, Sami and his family would visit both cities for holidays. But he also credits India for his knowledge in classical music. “I was the first person who started playing Indian classical music on the piano. It was a completely new kind of a style or genre,” claims Sami.
While studying the history of the piano, he found great resemblance with the santoor. “Like sarangi and violin, sitar and guitar, and piccolo and flute, I discovered even the piano and santoor belong to the same family. Where do I go from here? I wanted to understand the santoor better and apply its technique better on the piano. Of course, the father of the santoor was Pandit Shivkumar Sharma.”
Even the legendary musician was surprised to find the similarities between the piano and the santoor when Sami played the latter on the former. So, he became young Sami’s guru, who would frequent Mumbai for his lessons in Indian classical music. But Sami points out that him and India go even a long way back before that, as they were joined by the hip right since he was born.
Interestingly, Sami is born on this day, August 15, celebrated as India’s Independence Day. “It’s a double whammy for me. I celebrate Independence Day as well as my birthday. It’s an honour,” he says, smiling. However, he believes it’s far deeper than just a happy coincidence. “I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe in destiny,” he adds.
“I genuinely believe God deliberately made August 15 as my birthday, as if to give me a hint, ‘Listen, you belong there.’ If he wanted, it could’ve been August 14,” he says, laughing, expressing relief he wasn’t born on the eve, acknowledged as Pakistan’s Independence Day or Partition Day. Sami, though born in the UK and having lived across the world, has had a rather strenuous relationship with Pakistan.
