Saffia Saleem Beyg, wife of business executive late Saleem Beyg and mother of fashion guru Rizwan Beyg, is an accomplished classical singer. Born and raised in Burma, she nurtured the love of music from a very early age. However, her interest was confined to western music owing to the influence of the British colonial system. She was introduced to eastern classical music long after she moved to Karachi with her husband and three young kids.

Mrs. Beyg was mesmerized by the depth of classical music and decided to learn it and from there the love for classical developed. She approached Ustad Hamid Hussain,renowned classical musician who agreed to teach her. She could learn from him for just three years as Ustad Hamid then passed away.

However, Saffia's love for classical music had fully developed by then. Besides classical music, Saffia had a great interest in all other performing arts. It was her dedication and commitment to the arts that she was selected to head the Academy of Performing Arts. Under her stewardship, the Academy organized many memorable performances by various artists in different fields of performing arts. She was instrumental in presenting before the city of Karachi our artistic and cultural heritage in its best form. The Academy was disbanded by the military government in the 1980s.

Saffia's quest for music, however, did not end and she continued to pursue her interest privately. It was in 1999, that she formed Sampurna with the aim and objective of preserving and promoting classical music in Pakistan and save this art form from dying. With an initial member base of 25, the organization has grown to 125 members including 10 life members.