Medical student becomes first Kashmiri with doctorate in music

Shahzad Asim's journey from the militant-stronghold of Sopore town in north Kashmir as a student of medicine to become the first Kashmiri to complete a doctorate in music was a bumpy ride.

His family was against his decision to switch over from medicine to music as a profession and the society he lived in, did not hold musicians in high regard while the profession itself was mired in societal and religious taboos.

Unrelenting and against the wishes of one and all, he kept pursuing his dream.

Asim was born in Sopore, where his first critics - his father and mother - still live in their ancestral home. The town has been a militant bastion and a stronghold of religiously conservative Jamaat-e-Islami.

"They (father and mother) were against me at that time when I chose music. Also people would tell them many things but their opposition was a challenge for me and it made me more enthusiastic in pursuit of music and success," Asim told PTI.

When Asim chose his destiny to be a musician and a singer, he knew he faced a hostile audience of a conservative society.

"It was a bold step from being a medical student to music field. In this society, musicians are not respected. But I have proved myself," he said.

Asim did his bachelor's in Music from University of Kashmir, went on do to his masters from Chandigarh and years later became the first Kashmiri to have a doctorate in music.

Today, Asim said, his family is proud of him. And his music is heard by all the living generations of Kashmir.

Asim's research thesis titled "Secrets of Music" has been acknowledged by Paris based International Music council.

"Music is the feeling created by the sound. While researching on my thesis Secrets of Music, I understood everything. I even understood the secrets of the nature," he said.

The young singer-musician has six Kashmiri albums to his name and in most of his songs he uses verses of famous poets of the valley from a bygone era but has blended these to the tunes of modern music instruments.

The 30-year-old, who came up with his first album "Bram Dith Saaki" in 2005, said he has also been invited by the International Music Education Research Centre of University of London to pursue his research further.

"I am the first scientist of music from India. My research is about how music works and how and why living beings react to the music. My research is also about how music therapy works," he said.

His research also included how brain "gets relaxed" by music and why is it called "refreshment of soul".