``I feel blessed to be playing in such a holy place,'' says the musician, who will be giving the Pope a taste of Indian culture before his November visit here. ``If I play with complete humility, I know my music will reach out,'' believes this disciple of Ravi Shankar, who was invited there two months ago after a concert in Rome.

Mazumdar left on Thursday night for a tour of Germany, Italy and Switzerland, but he agrees that the highlight will be the performance at Aula Nervi, where the Pope holds his special audiences on Wednesdays. This 34-year-old will be the only musician playing at the Inter-religious Assembly. ``I am very tense, I even visited the doctor today,'' he admits.

Of course, he is always nervous beforeperformances. He still remembers his first appearance -- at the age of three -- when he strode on to the stage and immediately began to sing, too tense to wait for the accompanists. ``But it is quite positive, it brings out the best in me. And once I pick up the sitar, I become normal,'' smiles Mazumdar, who hails from a family of musicians in Allahabad and initially trained as a vocalist and violinist.

He is playing a special composition, Akanksha, at the Vatican and is dedicating it to world peace. ``I am very upset at the trouble -- both natural and man-made -- that I see all over the world,'' he explains. ``Music is the only language I know and in such an atmosphere I hope people may be touched by the message.'' The composition was born while he was working on another project and was haunted by a particular scale.

``On doing some research, I found it was a new scale with the possibility of being performed as a full raag,'' he says. And encouraged by his Bharatnatyam dancer-Gap managerwife Nanditha and his disciples, he decided to develop the composition which has the flavour of a morning raag. ``I'm still working on it, it needs some polish,'' he adds.

And there's no doubt that Mazumdar, who has performed at temples and churches before, is looking forward to the experience. ``Of course I believe there is God everywhere, especially where there is music -- and every audience is important,'' he says. ``But in such an atmosphere, with such an audience, naturally it will be special.'' He is also aware of a sense of responsibility. ``I will be giving him an idea about our music, about our nation,'' he agrees, ``But I feel equally responsible every time I play.''

And it is this constant search for new challenges that keeps Mazumdar excited. His forthcoming projects range from a ballet score with New York dancer Ann Moradian to a CD with his own lyrics on the city's problems.