Ustad Zakir Hussain: How he popularised tabla and transcended musical boundaries
The eldest son of Ustad Allah Rakha, Ustad Zakir Hussain was seven when he performed at a public concert in Bombay (as the state was then known)
Tabla maestro and internationally acclaimed musician Ustad Zakir Hussain, who passed away in a San Francisco hospital on Sunday following multiple health issues, blurred global boundaries with his deep knowledge of music and immaculate sense of performance. He was 73 and survived by wife, daughters, brothers Fazal Qureshi and Taufiq Qureshi, and granddaughter.
Zakir transcended boundaries and popularised the tabla following the footsteps of Ustad Allah Rakha, his father and guru.
Zakir mentored and trained countless youngsters and attained at a young age, the status of India’s cultural icon joining the esteemed coterie of Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, M. S. Subbulakshmi and Lata Mangeshkar.
Also Read: Zakir Hussain, legendary tabla virtuoso, dies at 73, tributes pour in
The eldest son of Ustad Allah Rakha, Ustad Zakir Hussain was seven when he performed at a public concert in Bombay (as the state was then known), and by age 12, the child prodigy had begun his concert tours. He studied in a Mahim Convent School and graduated from St. Xavier’s college in south Mumbai.
It is said that Hussain’s father Ustad Allah Rakha would whisper various tabla beats into his son’s ears while he was asleep. As Zakir grew up, he would skip the riyaaz (practice) schedule and play gully cricket with his friends.
Ustad Allah Rakha, then reprimanded his son to either choose the table or the bat, fearing that bowling would hurt his son’s fingers thereby impeding his tabla practice.
“It was the nation’s good fortune that Zakirbhai chose the tabla,” said Mandar Karnik, a tabla player and an ardent admirer of Ustad Zakir Hussain.
In a glittering career spanning six decades, Ustad Zakir Hussain performed with stalwarts such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Shehanai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Sultan Khan and Pandit Shivkumar Sharma.
He also collaborated with giants across varied genres and styles, namely Mickey Hart and George Harrison.
His solo performances, both in India and abroad, used to pull huge crowds and mesmerise the audience.
“Ustad Zakir Hussain would enhance the beauty of a concert with his amazing finger work. Never did he try to show off or score over the singer or instrumentalist he was accompanying. He honoured the basic rules of ‘sangat’— accompaniment,” said Karnik.
Ustad Zakir Hussain teamed up with the world’s top artists to experiment with sound and rhythm, thus bringing the world closer to India’s rich musical tradition, experts said.
Shakti, a fusion band was flagged off by Ustad Zakir Hussain, British guitarist James Mclaughlin, Indian violinist L Shankar and TH “Vikku” Vinayakram (on the ‘ghatam’) way back in 1973 when Indian music had begun to earn a wide following in the West. Shakti thus was a milestone in Ustad Zakir Hussain’s career.
Ustad Zakir Hussain received numerous national and international accolades.
He was voted DownBeat Critics Poll ‘Percussionist of the Year’ award for 2023 and 2024; the Aga Khan music award in Oman in 2022; the Padma Vibhushan; the Sangeet Natak Akademi award and the fellowship as well; the United States National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage fellowship, said to a rare honour and three Grammys at the 66th annual Grammys awards in April 2024, among other awards.
Ustad also carved a niche for himself in films. He was part of films such as ‘Apocalypse Now’, ‘Monkey Man’ and ‘Heat and Dust’ (1983).
Zakir also teamed up with Richard Robbins to score music for the film, a James Ivory-Ismail Merchant production.
A book on the table legend, ‘Zakir Hussain: A Life In Music’, by Nasreen Munni Kabir, chronicles the life and times of the ace musician.
