My Father’s Gifts

My father’s early passions were sport and music, but he later settled on a career in international sales and marketing. On a couple of occasions while living and working in Dubai, my father’s employer sponsored music concerts in the 1990s with artists such as Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussain, who bridged East and West in what is today known as the genre of world music.

Pandit Shri Ravi Shankar graciously signing autographs in Dubai, UAE. Photo credit: Unknown. 1990s.

As a teenager, I accompanied my father and mother to both these concerts and was fortunate to have shared a moment with the late maestro Ravi Shankar. He was an icon not only in the worlds of Indian classical music but in the fusion of Western and Eastern music. Though I do not play a musical instrument, my love for music and enjoyment of listening to a broad range of music played a significant role in my recoveries both as a child and adult.

Pandit Shri Ravi Shankar, generously sharing his time with audience members in Dubai, UAE. Photo credit: Unknown, 1990s.

Today is Pervez Sarwar Mohammed’s – my father’s 70th birthday – and I would like to thank him for the many gifts and opportunities he has enabled and bestowed upon me. We wish him lots of love, good health and happiness in the years ahead.