My elder brother Dr. Sukamal Khasnabis bought one Hawaiian guitar for him to learn. He was a great lover of music. But later decided not to learn guitar as his admission in Calcutta National Medical College as a medical student. So he asked me to take over and learn guitar. I started to learn guitar from Ranjan Majumder (Father of Sri Tejendra Narayan Majumder, famous Sarod player), which was short lived, because, due to the cause of my permanent settlement and study reasons, I had to discontinue.

From now onwards there was a good gap and I was busy with my studies. After having completed my I.Sc (International Science), I was badly attracted to guitar again and joined the Hawaiian guitar class of famous guitarist Batuk Nandy, who started to love me with full affection and I played for so many guitar compositions and became prominent. At this time I got some exposure and came in contact of great guitarists like Sunil Ganguly, Kazi Aniruddha, Rajat Nandy, Sujit Nath and his son Avijit Nath.
In this time period Khokan Mukherjee became my close friend. Khokon was the only professional guitarist attracted to this lovely instrumrnt and started to practice this by buying foreign Spanish guitar TUTOR. Very soon after passing B.Sc., I got my entry into the Bengali Film Industry as a Spanish guitar player along with Khokon.

For getting me such, men who helped me a lot were Y.S.Moalki, Aloke Nath Dey, Dilip Roy and Batuk Nandy. At this period I began to play orchestra and was a regular artist on A.I.R. as a western Music Player. I played as an accompanist with Kishore Kumar, Mohd. Rafi, Mukesh, Ghulam Ali on stage. I staged on a big orchestra named, “SEE THE GLOBE THROUGH MUSIC”, several times in Calcutta consisting of 30 great musicians of Calcutta, like Sitar, Guitar, Mandolin, Brass Group and skin instrument which was appreciated by thousands of
Music Lovers.

I played guitar and bass guitar in the famous ghazal record of Asha Bhonsle in H.M.V. under the direction of Ghulam Ali.

I did the music arrangement of Manna Dey’s hit L.P. record “Sara Jiboner Gaan”. I also arranged the guitar album of Sunil Ganguly for consecutive 12 years amongst which “Ghazal Ushreechhedi” needs to be mentioned. I am always making experiment to place an orchestra to the lovers in a new shape.

In the Silver Jubilee of Studio Vibrations, Usha Uthup, the owner of that studio honoured me among about 20 other prominent with valuable things for having made several recordings in this studio frequently. I know the two disciplines of music in both Western and Indian music and notation. So I am able to write any Indian songs like Bengali and Hindi popular songs, Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti and can easily transpose them into staff notation. This can be very useful to piano and violin players having interest in Indian Music. I worked as an assistant and arranger in the famous film Trishagni, the music director was Salil Chowdhury. His arrangement in Calcutta was mostly done by the great flutist Sri Aloke Nath Dey. I played Guitar in his several basic and film recordings.

I was regularly playing orchestra in this dinner party of Medical College mostly in winters.

Through my guitar music, I am trying to my best to bring Old melodies of Antique Value to bring them into limelight, because these music. I believe will never die.

Samir Khasnabis has been a household name to the singer musicians of the golden Era in Bengal, some of whom are still around like Dwijen, Sandha, Arati, Haimanti, Banashree and Manna Dey. He has been to closely associate with Tollygunge Film Industry, when Uttomkumar was matinee to night idol and rest was history, but ‘Tollywood’ name was not yet coined. From mid 70 onwards there where very few public concerned those stalwart singers performed without S. K. playing beside them with a guitar. In local ‘Jalsa’ (outdoor music programme). Samir Khasnabis orchestra was a palatable attraction. He complimented all of hit (Hindi + Bengali) songs those doyens had offered us. S. K. has started his journey before electronic era, when people had to learn the instrument there playing and to learn the music. The PC was even beyond the dream as a result, they became ‘master’. Master of something as opposed of ‘jack of all trades’. i.e. time when V. Balsara & Y. S. Mukhi came to Bengali Modern and Bengali Film Music as a ‘gift’. He was the product of that ‘gift’, entered into the industry holding the hand of Y. S. Mukhi. He was introduced to guitar accidentally by his elder brother, who choose a career of medicine rhythm music, where the only common factor was ‘M’ he feel in love with that instrument which took him to Butuk Nandi another pioneer in guitar. He couldn’t separate his love with his learning, which landed him no where else but the land of Tollygung Film Industry and the singer musicians. Film Music, recording & line performances become synonymous with Samir’s living which be still could not disassociate from at the age XX.