Obituary: Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain’s music transcended cultures, continents, genres
If Ustad Zakir Hussain could not imagine his existence without tabla, his mate and friend, music lovers too could not see the percussion instrument without the affable man appearing on their mindscape. Rarely does it happen in musical history that an instrument becomes synonymous with a person. As the legendary percussionist, composer and occasional actor passed away at 73, for millions of his fans the sound of tabla itself falls silent.
Born on March 9, 1951, Mumbai, son of legendary musician Alla Rakha, himself a tabla virtuoso, Hussain was exposed to a rich musical environment at an early age. By age three he became aware of rhythmic patterns, by seven he was part of school concerts.
World beckoned when a performance at age 19 with sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar in New York paved way for an illustrious career. In his six-decade long career, he not only put tabla on the global stage and won the West with his dexterous command over his chosen instrument especially his trademark tihaais but also jammed with the best global musicians.
As recent as this year he won three Grammys at its 66th edition. Back in time he came together with George Harrison and in 1970s formed the Shakti band with legendary guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L. Shankar, and percussionist T.H. ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram. More recently he collaborated with Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer wherein banjo, bass and tabla began to speak to each other and their album As We Speak won a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category.
Honours and awards including Grammy were not new to him. If he won four Grammys including one in 1991 with Mickey Hart for the album Planet Drum, he was feted with the second highest civilian honour of India Padma Vibushan. Most visible, celebrated and admired ambassador of Indian classical music which he popularised in India and beyond, he became a bridge between tradition and contemporary sounds blending both effortlessly. In his hands fusion was never confusion but a melodious confluence transcending cultures, continents, genres. If he whipped up magic on tabla, his aura was no less charismatic.
In 1994, he was voted the “sexiest man” by readers of the magazine “Gentleman.”
Ever versatile, he even composed for many films, including Merchant-Ivory’s Heat and Dust, In Custody and Mystic Masseur, Vanaprastham, Everybody Says I’m Fine, and Mr. And Mrs. Iyer. He acted in movies like the Perfect Murder, Saaz, lately in 2024 in Monkey Man. A viral scene from the film where he is playing tabla and film’s hero Dev Patel throwing punches, the boxing-tabla jugalbandi, described by his fans as raga meets rage. In his lifetime raga had many companions, in jazz, and other genres and he created concertos by fusing tabla with orchestra.
However, if he was born to music, stage was his natural habitat and concerts in prestigious venues like Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall stood as testimony to his rhythmic brilliance. His father’s advice ‘always remain a student’ ensured he was open to all kinds of musical influences, eager to learn and forever passionate about his muse. Classical music he may have felt has a niche audience he took it to a pinnacle where even layman was compelled to echo Wah Ustad Wah. Survived by his wife Antonia Minnecola, kathak exponent and two daughters, Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi, his legacy lives on but the sound of music he created will never be the same again. “Without love, music and harmony we are nothing,” he said during his Grammy acceptance speech and he brought all three in the lives of millions. Beyond genres, even gharanas, this purist was forever in pursuit of pure sound.
