Adnan Sami arrived in India 25 years ago on March 13, 2021, and never left. The singer-composer was recording “Kabhi To Nazar Milao” with legendary artist Asha Bhosle in London, when she coaxed him to release his music in India. Having already unveiled a lot of those songs in Pakistan, where he allegedly claimed they were not “marketed” well, Sami thought of rebranding and releasing them in the UK. But Bhosle insisted that if it’s a Hindi song, it wouldn’t have a better home than Mumbai.How Adnan Sami’s education and career kickstarted in IndiaSo, 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. Adnan Sami says that Asha Bhosle coaxed him to make music in India.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.Adnan Sami always felt he belongs to IndiaInterestingly, 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.Story continues below this adAfter Sami’s Pakistan passport expired in 2015, his renewal never got accepted. The singer alleged on Aap Ki Adalat that the country “cannot stand” that he chose India as his home, instead of any other country in the world, dubbing it as an “ex-lover”. He also claimed that he chose India out of conviction, not for money, since he left behind assets worth crores in Pakistan.While Sami got the Indian citizenship 10 years ago in 2016, he confessed he began feeling like an Indian way before that, and right after he stepped foot into the country as a professional in the early 2000s. “I’ve lived all over the world while growing up. After travelling so extensively, I suddenly felt as if I landed home. The vacuum of something missing in my life certainly filled when I came here,” says Sami.Also Read — Batwara 1947, Main Vaapas Aaunga, Operation Safed Sagar remind India who she used to be“The way I was immediately embraced by everyone, whether it was through my music or even otherwise, I just felt I was home, and never wanted to leave. Because I’d never experience this kind of love, and felt so comfortable, before in any part of the world. It was beautiful to be amongst people I just vibed with in a unique manner,” adds the singer, who turns 55 on his country’s 79th Independence Day.