Adnan Sami: It was my destiny to be an Indian
or musician Adnan Sami, his birthday falling on the same date as India’s Independence Day is not a coincidence. The Lahoresinger firmly believes that he was ys meant to be an Indian citizen s grateful to share his birthday his country. oday, I’m a firm believer that e’s no such thing as a coincidence. estiny was written in India. My e and my dharmabhoomi were all ected to India. The love I have for a was so rooted from my childhood it was like the angels were telling You need to shift your focus over e’. I can’t write off this part of my s mere coincidence. It’s far deeper that,” he shares. mi, who turns 50 this year, says, way God created my destiny, it almost as if it was planned that I supposed to be an Indian. It was estiny to be an Indian. It was rtunate that the Partition ened, but God had his own way of g me that I belong here. It’s like irthday was the biggest hint that I nged to India.” e musician may have got his an citizenship only in 2016, but he its that his relationship with India ed the day he landed in the country for the first time in 1999 for work. “That was a start of an incredible love affair, and it continues, and reflects in my music and in everything I do. I’m a romantic at heart, I write love songs. And the ultimate love story I have is with India,” he muses.
However, Sami can never forget the struggle he had to face in order to get through the citizenship process and the fact that his application got rejected for technical reasons.
He recalls, “I never lost hope, I never gave up. I said, ‘I’ll do it again’. And that’s why it took me 16 years to do it. People think that one fine day, I became an Indian citizen. They have no idea how long I had to wait. And it was worth the struggle. I’d have waited another 16 years,” the Padma Shree awardee continues, “I just felt that this was home, right from the moment I landed here for the first time. This was the missing piece of the puzzle which made my life complete. I’ll never take it for granted.”
While the singer-composer is overseas with his wife Roya and daughter Medina, he says they do have some big plans for his 50th birthday. “Agar meri taraf se celebration mein koi kami aati hai toh woh pura desh poora kar deta hai. Everybody has a reason to smile on my birthday and I love that! It’s very special,” Sami concludes.