The tabla maestro's maestro

Zakir Hussain, longtime tabla genius and internationally acclaimed artist, Padma Bhushan awardee, was born in 1951

Zakir Hussain; Source: Public Domain

To carve a name out from the masters is difficult, and even more so if you are the offspring of one - be it charges of nepotism or being ever compared to what your (great) parent was, often these offsprings have to face it all. That was also the challenge faced by Zakir Hussain, the famous tabla virtuoso, born to the maestro Ustad Allah Rakha, on the 9th of March, 1951.

Allah Rakha immediately saw his talent, and he liked what he saw - ever since an early age, Zakir Hussain would be trained into the rythms and ways of the Gharana of Punjab, just as his father was. Morning sessions will take hours, as his father would recite the hymns and Zakir would try to play them, and, by the time he gave his first concert at the age of 7, he was already deemed a child prodigy.

Travelling with the sitar maestro Ravi Shankar on his tour of the United States in 1970, it brought him immense fame and name - and he was now ready to launch his international career.

Hindustani music had been dominated by vocalists and string instrumentalists - the sitar had no other match. Till it found itself in a "sawal jawaab" (question and answer) recital with the tabla of Zakir Hussain. The style was immensely popular, almost a battle between the instrumentalist and tabla player, but played out in good chivalry with the end result being an excellent melody.

This style was pioneered by Zakir Hussain, who despite working with the best Hindustani music stars of the era, still was able to draw crowds not on their name, but in the name of the humble tabla too.

Forever maintaining that musical gatherings must be only for music, and not a place to dine, enjoy or celebrate anything else otherwise, Hussain has never played for a private audience or party, instead focusing entirely on his performances in public as part of various bands - Shakti and Remember Shakti, with top-notch Indian artists.