India, April 4 -- He's never liked the idea of music being divided into genres. It divides people, says Steve Barakatt, 51. "And I believe that music is meant to communicate and unite. Inclusivity is its true essence."

Barakatt, a renowned Lebanese-Canadian composer and pianist, is currently in the midst of a world tour to promote his most recent album, Neorealite (2021; French for New Reality).

A performance at the Royal Opera House made Mumbai his 27th stop in an extensive tour that began in Serbia in 2022 and will proceed through Japan, Kazakhstan and Vietnam next, before concluding back home in Canada.

Barakatt has composed music for organisations ranging from the United Nations (he was behind the Unicef anthem Lullaby, composed in...