Earlier during the month, Sonu Nigam dressed as a destitute equipped with a harmonium sat by the street side and serenaded the people of Mumbai.
The social experiment called Roadside Ustad was an attempt to show the world that’s in a hurry that there is something beautiful happening around them all the time, if only they would stop for a few seconds and look.
‘Look’ and ‘listen’ they did, all right. But nobody could identify Sonu.
However, one young gentleman stopped, knelt and struck a conversation with the musician. He even offered Sonu Rs 12, as a token of appreciation for his marvellous music—all the while unaware that the serenading destitute really was Sonu Nigam.
After the experiment, Sonu had expressed that he was delighted by the young man’s generosity and his ability to recognize musical talent. He framed the money and placed it beside his collection of awards. Sonu had even mentioned that he would love to meet the young man should an opportunity arise.
Almost a week later, Being Indian—the organization that initiated the social experiment—tracked down and identified the kind man as Shahbaz Ali Sayyed, an ex-FSL employee.
During a live chat on Facebook with fans, Sonu said that he had a pleasant surprise for them and later introduced Sayyed to the world.
