Habib Qaderi, one of the biggest artists in Afghanistan, son of Sultan Aziz Qaderi, was born in Afghanistan. His father held a high-ranking position in the pre-communist government. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Habib’s family fled the country to India in 1983. At this time, he was in sixth grade at Sheerno Junior High in the Karte Parwan district of Kabul City. According to his account, it was in India that he became interested in music. Initially experimenting with tabla (hand drums), he learned the basics of this fundamental musical instrument and subsequently became familiar with harmonium.
Rishad Zahir was born in Seattle, Washington during his parents visit to the States. After spending a year in Seattle, they all returned to their homeland of Afghanistan. He had finished attending third grade at Estiqlal Elementary when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Soon after, Rishad, accompanied by his mother left for the United States permanently. At the age of 11, with his interest in music fully developed, he decided to pursue his interest in Dari literature. He was all the more impelled in his pursuit of ascertaining a greater understanding of farsi literature by the fact that he had been deprived of the opportunity in Afghanistan.
