At the age of 8, Zaani's father registered him in the Ottoman College in Bourj Abi Haydar, Beirut, where he joined the musical band in 1901, and graduated in 1913. [1]His interest in poetry and reading began to develop. Stories about him include that he was devoted to the extent that he used to sit almost every night on the streets, under the municipal lantern, to spend his time reading.