Scottish violinist Anne Wood reveals search for her Pakistani dad

Clinging to little snippets of what she knew, she wove her own small world where her Pakistani father burst into life and, reunited at last, she’d find a dad.

“I had this kind of ‘wondering’,” says Anne, who went on to become a renowned violinist working with some of Scotland’s best loved artists, including The Raincoats, Deacon Blue, Michael Marra.   

“It went right up until adulthood. Then I thought I would do something about it.”

Anne pictured during a visit to Pakistan in 1997 (Image: Anne Wood)

When she did – as it turned out, a much simpler process than she had ever dared to believe – there would then be unforeseen challenges to overcome: the meeting of their two distinct cultures, the impact of her arrival on his unsuspecting Pakistani family and the joy of finally filling the yawning gap in her life.

In Pakistan, she would encounter generous hospitality and cultural riches, while navigating an alien society which viewed an illegitimate woman and musician like her through a very different lens.

The turbulent journey – packed up exhilarating high points and difficult lows as Anne and her father learned about each other – would go on to inspire her and ignite her creativity.

The grand-daughter of a Highland piper, she had been steeped for years in reels, Strathspeys and Gaelic songs. With those forming the backbone to her music, she embarked on a fresh journey into Northern Indian classical music, Hindustani vocals and the distinctive twang of the sitar.

Anne playing with local musicians in Swat province, North West Pakistan. (Image: Anne Wood)

The story of finding her father has now been developed into a captivating cross-cultural tale that brings together international storytellers and musicians with a vibrant live score combining alap, raag, reel and strathspey.

Presented in English, Gaelic and Hindustani vocals, When Mountains Meet, tells of her travels from the Highlands to the Himalayas, her search for identity, belonging and connection with a land rooted in her DNA but which she had never known.

Described as akin to a Scottish-Pakistani wedding, it features new music composed by Anne and takes inspiration from the story, song, food, textiles and geography that define the two cultures.

It is has been 30 years in the making, ever since the 20-something Anne took her first  bold step to find her father.

Anne pictured with a local driver while travelling on the Karokorum Highway (Image: Anne Wood)

“I knew I had a Pakistani dad, but went back to Pakistan to an arranged marriage before I was born,” she says.

“Growing up it was just me and my mum.

“I used to imagine I would turn out to be a princess, or that he was running the corner shop – and everything in between.

“I only knew his name and that he was a doctor.”

With no other clues, she called the High Commission for Pakistan in London to ask for help.

“The man that answered said there were many doctors in Pakistan. I told him his name, there was a pause and he said ‘he was my friend’.

“I had been expected years of difficulty and struggle but it literally took a phone call to trace him.”

Anne wrote explaining she believed him to be her dad. His response was almost instant.

“He didn’t know I had been born,” she recalls. “He was very surprised but took it in his stride and was extremely generous and welcoming.”

Months of gentle correspondence followed as each began to learn more about the other.

Anne was working on the score for award-winning Communicado show Mary Queen Of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off when her father called to say he had arrived in the UK.

Anne Wood's When Mountains Meet features performers from Scotland, Pakistan, Indian and across the UK (Image: Robin Mitchell)

“I said I was in a show at the Lyceum, I was performing and he said he’d come to see it.

“He drove from London. I remember peering out as the audience arrived, and thinking ‘that must be my father’.

“It was extraordinary.

“When I met him, it was like he was a complete stranger but at the same time, not a stranger. I could see myself in this man even though I didn’t look anything like him.”

Anne went on to travel to Pakistan in 1991, but while it was fascinating to experience a new culture, the personal dynamics and society’s attitudes to daughters, illegitimate children and the lowly status of musicians was at odds with her life at home.

Having gotten to know her father in the UK, she was now asked to keep her identity secret and pretend she was a charity worker.

It led to fierce confrontations as father and daughter battled to navigate their new relationship within the cultural confines of Pakistan.

"I was taboo in a culture to which I longed to belong," she says.

“I had such a longing to meet my siblings but wasn’t allowed to out of respect for his wife.

“I’d sometimes I’d see them from a distance. Once I saw my sister, done up for her marriage. But that was not the time to have a family skeleton in the closet.

“My father would say ‘be patient, you will be recognised’ and I was determined it would happen.

“I did not want him to die and that to be the end of the connection between our families.”

She did finally meet two half brothers out of her six siblings. “They have helped me understand how difficult it was for their mother,” she adds.

Musician Anne Wood performing on the Khunjerab Pass on the Pakistan-Chinese border (Image: Anne Wood)

One has been particularly supportive of her new work, offering Pakistani perspective to certain elements.

Now around 30 years since their first meeting, Anne finally feels it’s the right time to draw the threads of their reunion together to create the multi-themed and multi-cultural work.

“Before my father died, we were still having our time together. Then, when someone dies, you have a different perspective.

“I emerged from that and wanted to commemorate the fantastic, precious treasure that was getting to know him.

“It was such a wonderful thing that we were able to be so honest with each other and trusted each other enough to show our differences.

“We had blazing rows occasionally but there was so much love and commitment to being father and daughter.”

When Mountains Meet will be performed at The Studio, Edinburgh, on April 25 and 26. Performances are planned for various locations around the country, and an album, When Mountains Meet album will be released on April 25. For full details go to https://www.whenmountainsmeet.com/