During her recent trip to India, Shakira was keen to know about Indian classical music

Pop icon Shakira's visit to Udaipur recently resulted in a friendship with Adnan Sami. The musicians bonded at the 80th birthday bash of industrialist K P Singh, where they both were performing.

The two have planned to collaborate on an album of Indian classical ragas and hip-hop, which would spotlight the sounds of the East and the West without resorting to clichEs of fusion music.

Says Adnan, "I found Shakira to be a global musician. Maybe it was the atmosphere in Udaipur.

As we were being taken by small boats to the palace, there were individual floats dotting the lake, each one containing musicians representing one or the other aspect of global music."

He adds "We did discuss a lot of ideas. Some of them of a rather concrete nature. But it is too early to talk about it now. All I can say is, Shakira is definitely coming back to India."

Adnan was also struck by the crooner's interest in Indian music. He says, "She wasn't just interested in the sound of a raga or a geet or a dhun.

She wants to explore the roots of Indian classical music. We are less curious about Indian music than the Westerners.

The Beatles' interest in our Hindustani musical heritage was quite profound. Likewise, Shakira doesn't only want to learn Hindustani music. She also wants to know its origin."