Papa and the pianist

He is the perfect example of mutiple cultural influences coming together. Born in Pakistan, brought up in UK and now making a life for himself in India, Adnan Sami has come a long way. A political science graduate, a lawyer and a journalist by profession, the pianist credits all his knowledge and talent in classical music to his father. Adnan, who is about to cut an album and experiment with Sufi music, talks to CS about how his father kept him grounded:


Who: Adnan Sami
What: Playing the piano and talking about his dad
Where: At his residence in Lokhandwala

Identity crisis
Though I was born in Pakistan, I never lived there. My father was a diplomat and as a result we'd keep travelling from one country to another. We were in UK for the longest; that's where I completed my education. But my parents never discconected themselves from their culture and upbringing. My dad especially was a great fan of Hindustani music and shayari. They were progressive yet spiritual. And that is the reason why despite coming from a family of academicians, I made it in a profession with completely opposite sensibilities.u00a0

Classical connect
There was a time in my life when I turned into a complete firang and would speak Urdu with an accent. My parents were really worried with this development. I used to be of the opinion that Hindustani classical music was for the aged. Once my father confronted me over my obsession with Jazz and western music. One night he advised me to listen to it. He gave me four records of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. I heard this music and woke up to a new world of music. This is how I was inititated into studying classical music. My father would even sit with me to explain shayari penned by various poets. My fluent Urdu today is all thanks to my father. Even after I started composing music, dad would make me read poetry and would then ask me to explain them.

Path to discovery
I used to be upset with him for insisting that I complete my piano training; I wanted to learn some classical instrument. But he stood firm. In one such argument, I told him that nobody plays Hindustani classical music on a piano, and it was too late for me to learn and master another instrument. Dad said, "If Amir Khusrow can break the pakhawaj into two and make a tabla then why can't you?" I took that up as a challenge. I studied the history of piano, and discovered that the piano came from the same family as santoor. Piano, I realised, was a mechanised version of santoor. Post that, I became the disciple of Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma. I developed my own style and ended up being the first person to play Hindustani classical music on piano. All thanks to my dad!