As the musical world mourns Zakir Hussain, his contribution to building bridges across musical cultures—at home and across the globe—remains an enduring legacy.
Sometime in the 1970s, Zakir Hussain, a young and rising tabla virtuoso, was travelling solo to Benaras for a prestigious concert with the legendary sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar. Worried about his safety, his family had given him strict instructions to avoid interacting with strangers and to be particularly cautious about accepting sweets or consuming any food offered by unknown persons.
Zakir was a rebel, like his own guru and father Ustad Allahrakha Khan who defied boundaries, whether in tradition, culture, or geography. In the middle of the afternoon, he sneaked away from Ravi Shankar라이브 바카라 sprawling house in Shivpur and made his way to the bustling lanes of the city라이브 바카라 Kabir chaura mohalla, home to classical musicians and legends of the Benaras Gharana.
Zakir was trained by Allahrakha in the tradition of the Punjab gharana -- one of the six distinct tabla schools along with Dilli, Ajrara, Lucknow, Farrukhabad and Benaras, each with unique styles, techniques, and approaches to playing. In the olden times, Hindustani classical music was bound by the strict traditions of gharana styles. Rivalry and jealousy existed among different Gharanas and musicians competed with and criticised one another라이브 바카라 style. Masters and their disciples were devoted to a signature playing method, compositions, styles, and rhythm of a tabla gharana. Switching to another style or choosing a guru from a rival gharana was considered a sacrilegious act. Many famed compositions were lost in history, as teachers held back from transmitting knowledge of other gharanas.
But Zakir was a cosmopolitan Bombay boy. Born in a Muslim family, he went to a Catholic school, learnt Arabic in Madarsa and worshipped Goddess Saraswati. The cultural barriers within the Hindustani music world astounded him. He was hungry and eager to meet the rivals he adored and who influenced his tabla style. He reached the doors of Pandit Kishan Maharaj, the legendary tabla maestro from the eastern (purab) school of Benares gharana, and his uncle Pandit Samta Prasad, residing next door, surprising them with his sudden arrival. Allahrakha, Kishan Maharaj and Samta Prasad comprised the “modern trinity of tabla.”
The meeting with the two maestros at their home upset Allahrakha, but Zakir was not one to be beaten down. “I asked my father, they showered me with such love and affection, why shouldn’t have I visited them? I imitate their style, why should I not pay my respects, touch their feet and get their blessings,” he said, recounting the transformative episode at the Pulautsav awards in Pune, 2018.
With that meeting, Zakir broke the imaginary barriers that separated rival gharanas and boxed musicians into rigid compartments defined by schools, genres, regions, and nationalities. By blending the distinct styles of different gharanas and collaborating with artists across genres, he reshaped the landscape of Hindustani classical music and redefined tabla on an international stage.
As the musical world mourns Zakir Hussain, his contribution to building bridges across musical cultures—at home and across the globe—remains an enduring legacy.
Kishan Maharaj, who became his mentor, gave Zakir insights into the unique approach and intricacies of the Benares Gharana, he also developed close bonds with musicians and performers across genres, like Pandit Birju Maharaj (kathak), Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (santoor), and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute). He seamlessly incorporated techniques from various gharanas-- the deep, resonant strokes of the Dilli Gharana, the intricate and delicate compositions of the Lucknow Gharana, and the speed and complexity of the Banaras style, without losing the essence of each style.
“Zakir bhai was a complete tabla player. After my great uncle Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, it was Zakir bhai who learned all gharana styles and played through all the gharanas,” recalls tabla artiste Rashid Mustafa. “It라이브 바카라 now become a standard practice, but in those days, one stayed committed to the gharana they practice under.”
Never one to follow any one particular style, Zakir emphasised that ‘gharanas’ were never central to the learning process, but were instrumental in giving direction to one라이브 바카라 thinking. “If someone asks me what my gharana is, I am not sure if I have an answer,” he said at the 2018 seminar on Sitar Gharanas of India NCPA in Mumbai.
As a five-year-old watching a young Zakir perform at his first concert in Delhi라이브 바카라 Aiwan-e-Ghalib auditorium, Mustafa was mesmerised. Although he was raised in a musical environment, Zakir라이브 바카라 performance, his quick finger movements and solid hold on the tabla, blew his mind. “He brought respect to tabla, tabla players started to be respected. Zakir bhai popularised tabla on the international stage. Because of him, event organisers began to ask musicians who are accompanying them on tabla,” says Mustafa.
Zakir라이브 바카라 rhythmic innovation and technical mastery, like his ability to mimic the sound of a galloping horse or a conch (shankha), mesmerised audiences and tabla players alike. Pandit Kalinath Mishra was stunned after seeing Zakir perform at Birla Matoshree Auditorium in Mumbai with Hariprasad Chaurasia in 1983. “I was a skilled tabla player but after seeing him play, I thought I didn’t even know ABCD of tabla. His personality, style and jugalbandi with Hariprasad ji, was so impressive, it was like witnessing the energy of a rising sun.”
There were only two musicians, Pandit Kishan Maharaj and Zakir bhai, where audience came not just for the music but to see the performers in their elements, Mishra added.
But in the close-knit Hindustani classical music community, it was Zakir라이브 바카라 humility, modesty, and respect for all that made him the ‘guru bhai’ of every artist, especially younger musicians whom he nurtured and promoted. When musicians bowed to touch his feet, Zakir would bow down and touch their feet too; even in thick crowds, he remembered and greeted them.
Mishra remembers the Australia tour where the two were performing at separate events. “Zakir bhai was supposed to leave the venue after his performance, but he waited to see mine. I was on the stage when I noticed the sound of my tabla was weak, perhaps Zakir bhai observed it too. He discreetly went to the sound console and asked the technicians to fix my sound,” says Mishra.
For Mishra and Mustafa, Zakir라이브 바카라 generosity and large-heartedness towards younger musicians revealed a side of him that went beyond his public persona as a maestro.
“He loved music and music loved him back. God creates a person like him only once, his loss is irreplaceable,” Mishra said.