Diljit Dosanjh — who will be the first Sikh artiste to ever perform at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California this April, alongside an impressive lineup of international performers — feels this moment belongs to everyone in India.

He says, “Being a native Punjabi artiste, this offer is something I could’ve never imagined coming my way. I have followed the Coachella festival every year. Honestly, when I accepted their offer last year, it just felt like a personal achievement until Sonali (his manager) told me how people were reacting to this news on Wednesday. That’s when it dawned on me that this isn’t just my success, it’s now an achievement that belongs to everyone here.”

That has always been intentional, right from the day I started out by singing in weddings and village fairs. I would wonder why our presentation isn’t at scale with international performers. Gradually, I learnt that it’s because we don’t have the money and Punjabi songs don’t earn as much as international songs because of their global language. I had made up my mind that the moment I became financially secure, I would go all out and fulfil this dream. What I am doing is not a wise financial proposition, but I spend everything I earn on making my presentation grand.

I will sing my Punjabi number for them, like always (laughs). We also listen to songs whose language we don’t understand. It’s about the sounds, and today we all know that sound has no barriers, courtesy the internet and social media.

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“Coachella is something I never even thought of, it was never in my plan,” reveals Diljit Dosanjh, who is set to perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, California (USA), in April. The singer-actor tells us that talks to perform at the mega music fest — which will feature performances by the likes of Bad Bunny, Frank Ocean and K-pop band BLACKPINK — began some time around “October-November” last year.

While his fans are ecstatic at the thought of him taking to a platform like Coachella, touted to be one of the biggest fests of its kind, the Peaches hitmaker, 39, is “just grateful to God”. He adds, “Jo ho raha hai, mere daayre se badi baat hai.”

His musical journey of over two decades began with him playing the tabla at a gurudwara in Punjab, and there has since been no looking back. The road to the global stage may be a coup for others, but for Dosanjh, it isn’t a far cry.

“Music har jagah pure hai, chahe aap chaar logon mein gaa rahe hain ya bade stage pe. Gurudware mein tabla play karna bhi meri liye utni hi badi baat hai jitna Coachella mein perform karna. When I used to play at the gurudwara, it used to be a big deal that I’m playing something for people... Woh moment bahot bada tha, shayad Coachella se bhi bada,” says the artiste, who has a working Lohri this time — on the set of Imtiaz Ali’s Chamkila.

Dosanjh, however, acknowledges that it is a huge moment for Punjabi music. He shares how his friends are already proud of the fact that “Punjabi boli” will be spoken on a global stage like Coachella. “Punjabi music has proven its merit. Tabhi yeh hua, aise hi nahin hua. It’s a big festival and a big opportunity for me. Main isko halke mein nahin lunga,” he signs off.