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It isn't easy to track down Gurdas Maan. Despite being a singer of iconic status and a National award-winning actor, the Punjabi star remains elusive and low profile. So it is after much effort that we manage to get through to his wife and manager, Manjeet—who micro manages everything from his schedules, concerts and recordings, right down to his meals—and squeeze in ' an appointment at his office, Sai Productions, in Andheri, Mumbai.

He's waiting for us; a flight to Chandigarh later in the day has been providentially cancelled and he doesn't hesitate to spend the day with us, despite having been up till two in the morning, shooting. "The day I have an off, it's my day to be useless and sick. All aches and pains surface then," says the 48-year-old singer, his trademark stubble intact.

But before he can tell us his story, he has duties to perform, A Punjabi family from Nairobi, fans of his, have come to meet him. He obliges them by posing for snapshots and chatting in Punjabi."Abroad they shower me with so much maan samman, it's difficult to measure" , he tells us when the family departs.

True, his concerts across countries such as the US, UK, Canada,New Zealand and Australia are always sold out. Incidentally, he performs in a country only once in two years as a policy.

We tell him that in Punjab singers such as Harbhajan Maan, Gursewak Maan, Sardool Sikander and Jazzy B take his name with reverence. What is it that differentiates him from the pack? He says he doesn't have an answer.

But we think we do. The answer is probably two-fold. First, most of today's singers are products of the television and media boom and their popularity lies more in their packaging than real talent. Maan, however, became successful in the pre-music video days. He was a star much before promotions and PR skills created stars. And when he sang live, it meant live.

The second reason could be that Maan is looked upon as an artist who has refused to sell out. Call him a puritan, but he has rejected scores of offers to release remix albums. He is one singer who continues to offer , original music in the Remix Raj. As we discuss this, Maan thinks he may have an answer after all. "1 have stuck to my brand of music and have never agreed to mixed shows abroad with other singers and actors. I always perform solo and that's why I have never got lost in the crowd." But Maan also says that Punjabi music artists today—especially the ones from the UK—who have heralded a new brand of Punjabi pop, cannot be disregarded. "They are binding Punjabis together internationally.In fact, it is because of them that Punjabi music has become known throughout the world," he says.

Ask Maan how he started out, and in true poetic style, he says "I kept walking and the roads kept opening up." He says he never really planned anything— neither his singing nor acting. We find that difficult to believe till he tells us that he was actually trained to be a sportsman rather than a singer.