Ustaad Naseer-Ud-Din Saami’s musical journey

His forefathers were the first to introduce this kind of music and the ancestor Mian Samadh was a disciple of Ameer Khusro.
Ustaad Saami was a disciple of Ustaad Munshi Raziuddin, also his uncle, under whom he started learning music in 1956 when Naseer-Ud-Din was 11 years old. His other mentors include Ustaad Sardar Khan, Iftikhar Alrrned and Piaray Khan.
Recalling his training period, Ustaad Saami says: “When we were made to sit for training there were certain family rules that we had to follow. One of the rules was that first we were expected to listen to the Ustaad and put our entire focus on the ‘Sur’. It was only after months of listening that we were allowed to attempt a ‘Sur’ with our own voice as heard from the teacher.”
He revealed that a conventional but rather dangerous and effortful way was used to teach him the art of classical singing. “One single part of ‘Sa’ was taught to us for 6 months and then we were asked to join in ‘Ra’ with it on the tambura. This activity took weeks and was fine tuned to appreciate the importance of each ‘sur’, this we call makaam-e-sudh.”
As a result of this arduous training, Ustaad Saami can now pick a single word and stretch it in directions that one can’t even think off. For his unimpeachable talent, Ustaad Saami was conferred the Presidential Pride of Performance award in 2007 and he credits the APMC Karachi chapter for “bringing me in the spotlight”.
Ustaad Saami feels that when the significance of a ‘sur’ is reflected in the singing, it takes a person to another state, a much peaceful mind. “Frequently people keep moving from one ‘sur’ to another without stopping at one, However, it is very important to stop at a ‘sur’,” he says.
A staunch believer and practitioner of classical music, Ustaad Saami claims that he does not mind fusion “as long as it doesn’t destroy the true essence of the song”. He feels that pop music has a lot of “noise”, but he admits that this is the era of pop music and he desires that the younger generation get the exposure of classical music.
“I discussed with Rohail Hyatt how classical music could be promoted in this era of pop music. I suggested that we bring the conventional and contemporary for the audience and he was very receptive to the idea,” says Ustaad Saami.
On his Coke Studio experience, Ustaad Saami acknowledges Rohail Hyatt. “I’ve known Rohail for nearly 9 years and he is like a son to me. I told him what I expected from the session and he was very supportive throughout.” The purpose of Ustaad Saami’s Coke Studio performance was to mould his age long tradition and fit into the modern music industry.
Ustaad Saami believes that his upcoming performances would be even more popular than ‘Mundari’, which has already been a great sucess.
Ustaad Saami’s two sons Mohammad Rauf and Mohammad Urooj Saami follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. “ My elder son Rauf knows the art of qawwali while my younger son Urooj stays in classical music with me,” he said.
There is a lot that one can learn from Ustaad Saami as a person. His humble tone of speech reaches out to the soul just like his music does.
Even after receiving musical training for more than 50 years and having a performing history of over 45 years, Ustaad Saami says, “ The world calls me Ustaad (master), but I personally feel I’m a Shagird (disciple) of music.”
It is this humility and purity of heart which pours out with his songs.