MUMBAI: Loy Mendonsa, who is a part of the most-sought-after music director trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, is a year wiser today.

Today, on his birthday, Radioandmusic.om thought of paying accolades to the master by bringing some facts you should know about Loy, who has been religiously loyal to his roots. Here is what we have found.

• Loy was born in a family of musicians. At any party or family gathering, he used to accompany his uncles and aunties, who were inclined to singing, with a guitar.
   
• Loy is a multi-instrumentalist, who plays the piano, bass guitar, harmonica and is learning to play the trumpet as well.
   
• Originally from Delhi, Loy used to be a music teacher at a school in New Delhi. He was invited to arrange the music for the show 'Quiz Time' by Siddharth Basu, who gave him his first break.
   
• Loy started his career by composing the title track for 'The World This Week’ show on Doordarshan and for the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer TV serial 'Fauji'.
   
• After moving to Mumbai, Loy got to meet Ehsaan Noorani in 1989, and together they composed several ad jingles.
   
• Also, before becoming a music composer, he played the piano and keyboards for famous Indian music composers such as AR. Rahman and Nadeem-Shravan.
   
• Loy debuted as a singer with the song ‘Bolo Na Bolo’, a Sanskrit verse in Ganaraj Adhiraj 2012 along with Shankar Mahadevan’s youngest son Shivam Mahadevan.
   
• People who do not know, Loy’s daughter Alyssa Mendonsa is also a singer who made her singing debut with the song ‘Uff Teri Adaa’ from the movie ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’.
   
• With Mukul Anand's film ‘Dus’, Loy made his Bollywood debut along with the trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. The film remained incomplete after Anand's death though the album was released later in 1999.
   
• Loy is the uncle of guitarist, composer and record producer Warren Mendonsa who is known for his project Blackstratblues.
   
•  Loy won the 'Best Music Direction' at IIFA Awards and Filmfare Awards for 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' along with Ehsaan Noorani and Shankar Mahadevan.