His family is still in Afghanistan.

Nangarhari's wife, Ghulali, gives free tuitions to local children in Afghanistan, where education is still a luxury and his five children have still not been able to come to terms with his growing popularity.

'I had to call the Afghan police to rescue me from my fans when I was shopping for the Afghani salwar kameez in a store,' said a blushing Nangarhari.

However, he still moves around freely in London without being noticed.

His latest album was recently recorded in London, which he considers his second home. Since making a new life in London, he has gone back to his country of birth just twice.

He is happy that the radio and television channels in Afghanistan and Afghan channels in London are repeatedly playing his music.

Nangarhari's music has inspired many Afghans, including President Hamid Karzai, who invited him to the presidential palace a few months ago.

'Now things are getting better under Karzai, who has been successful in maintaining a balance among all the communities in Afghanistan,' said the singer.

But he is not fully happy with the government as he laments that his country lacks infrastructure, even though Western countries have given millions to re-build it.

'I fear for my family's safety there because children are still being kidnapped by the Taliban,' said Nangarhari.

Nangarhari, who is currently working on his third music album, regularly performs for the Afghan community in London.

'He is the number one singer in the Afghan music industry who has made his mark in a very short time. He has a great voice and lyrics and his compositions are also good,' said Shakeeb Karkar, an Afghan mini-cab driver in London.

(Cynthia Chandran can be contacted on cynthiachandran@gmail.com)