When baby Zakir Hussain had rhythms for prayers from dad

Eight years ago, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain had narrated how his father Alla Rakha had welcomed him into this world by putting the musical instrument's rhythms into his ears when asked to recite prayers.

Mumbai-born Zakir Hussain passed away at a hospital in San Francisco due to complications arising out of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, his family said on Monday.

Zakir Hussain spoke of his father holding him in his arms for the first time. Alla Rakha was an accomplished tabla player and a frequent accompanist of iconic sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar.

“I was brought home and handed over to my dad in his arms. The tradition was that the father is supposed to recite a prayer in the baby's ear, welcoming the baby and putting some good words.

“So he takes me in his arms, puts his lips to my ear and recites the tabla rhythms into my ears. My mother was livid. She said, what are you doing? You're supposed to say, you know, prayers, not rhythms.

“And he said, but these are my prayers. This is how I pray. He said, I am the worshipper of Goddess Saraswati and Lord Ganesh. This was a devout Muslim talking. He said this is the knowledge he got from his teachers and wanted to pass it on to his son,” Zakir Hussain said.

Born on March 9, 1951 in Mumbai, Ustad Zakir Hussain was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, Padma Bhushan in 2002 and Padma Vibhushan in 2023.

Zakir Hussain had his early education from St. Michael's School in Mahim and did his graduation from St Xavier's College, both in Mumbai.

During his early days, he used to travel by train and if he could not find a seat, he would spread newspapers on the floor and sleep. During such journeys, so that no one's feet touched his tabla, he used to sleep with the musical instruments in his lap.

In another interview, Zakir Hussain had recalled an incident when he was 12 years old. He had gone to a concert with his father. Music stalwarts like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Bismillah Khan, Pandit Shanta Prasad and Pandit Kishan Maharaj were also present at that concert.

Zakir Hussain went on stage with his father and got five rupees for the performance. “I have earned a lot of money in my life, but those five rupees were the most valuable,” the tabla maestro had said.