Story: Nasreen Gulamhusein, via Montecristo Magazine – As a young boy growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, Mohamed Assani fell in love with music on a cricket field. “Every year we would have this festive religious celebration called Eid, and there was a live band right in the middle of everything,” remembers Assani, now in his 40s. “The first time I heard the guitar play, somehow I felt it in my heart. It really inspired me, and that is where my love of music began.” That spark of inspiration grew into a lifelong career in music that has taken him across continents and into the depths of his own soul.
When Assani turned 18, a friend told him about schools that taught music and nothing else. “I was so excited,” says Assani. “When I applied to college I had no idea who Mozart or Beethoven even were.” Yet his combination of natural talent and a deep desire to learn music earned him a place in the classical music program at Dartington College of Arts in Devon, England. Unbeknownst to Assani, the school had a strong world music program with a focus on Indian instruments. It was here that Assani first saw a sitar played live by a guest teacher. “Sometimes when he practised, I would sit with him for hours and just listen without moving.” Assani was committed to classical music and completed his degree, but the sitar left an imprint on his heart.
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