The flute may not have been her first choice but when she finally did pick up one, her love for it got intense. So much so that when she finished her college she decided to go abroad to study the flute. Dilshad's family is steeped in music both her parents are pianists and her elder brother, Farhad, has gone abroad to take up violin playing at a professional level. So Dilshad went to London's Royal School of Music. "I wanted to know if I had the potential to be a studentthere," she says. She obviously did as she was granted a scholarship to the college and after completing her studies was awarded the Tagore Medal which is the most prestigious award of the institution. Dilshad had no professional training before she went to London. "There are not many people who play the flute here, so I just had to teach myself from books," she says. This is exactly why she tries to guide as many students as possible when she is in the city.

Dilshad is now studying in Pittsburg and is under the guidance of Jeanne Baxtresser, who is the principal flutist with the New York Philharmonic orchestra. "It is a shame that western classical music is not recognised much here. But then there is a lack of funds," she says. And during this trip Dilshad has been invited to do some work for the Bollywood music producers Jatin-Lalit.

Dilshad comes back to Mumbai regularly for shows with the Bombay Chamber Orchestra and also for Zubin Mehta's festival of Western classical music, Sangat. Indian musiciansfrom over the world participate in this festival which is running in its third year now.

It was while Dilshad was in London that she performed before several members of England's Royal Family. She played a short solo piece by a French composer which the Queen appreciated a lot.

But even after so many performances Dilshad says that she is still nervous playing live. She practices for about five hours a day. At the moment, she is busy practising the English Composer Malcolm Arnold Ninth concerto, as that is what she will perform at the Bombay Chamber Orchestra show. "I try and practice in front of colleagues as that makes me even more nervous, as they know exactly when I am making a mistake," she says. She adds that most of her friends from school days always attend her performances when she is back in the city and though they take a lot of interest in her work they often do not understand why she has to practice so long every day. Besides her practice she also does a lot of breathing exercises and swims."I should also do yoga but I just do not seem to have the time," adds Dilshad. Dilshad would like to be a full-time performing artist, which will mean living away from home. "There is no permanent work here but I will always visit Mumbai regularly. I will probably have to freelance as an orchestra only has three or four flautists and jobs do not open up easily," she says. But one day Dilshad hopes to play with a symphony from the romantic period with a large orchestra.