New Delhi:

His fingers flew, fluttered and floated in quicksilver changes of raga and rhythm, drumming up music and magic. Zakir Hussain was the maestro of tabla, percussionist, composer and even actor – a legend who was India’s very own and yet belonged to the world.

Hussain died from ‘idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis’, a lung disease, in a San Francisco hospital early Monday. He was 73.

The artiste, a marquee name in India and abroad, leaves behind more than 60 years of music. He played on the stage alongside some of the greatest Indian and international musicians in a fusion of Indian classical and world music, giving the tabla a whole new identity.

The great percussionist created music across genres and styles, including in his repertoire jazz and concertos, naturally developing an “all-inclusive musical creativity” after learning and playing under the tutelage of his father and renowned tabla player, Alla Rakha.

“The mindset as I was growing up tuned itself to the idea that music is music, it’s not Indian music or that music, so when I actually started working with musicians who were non-Indian it seemed like a natural handshake,” Hussain told PTI almost a year ago ahead of a performance in Goa.

As the son of Alla Rakha, one of the greatest tabla players of all time, Hussain was to the music born.

He started early. The child prodigy performed his first concert at the age of seven and began touring at 12. After completing his education in Mumbai, where he was born, he moved to the United States in 1970.

The borders melted away when it came to his music.

In February, Hussain became the first musician from India to receive three Grammys at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February for Best Global Music Album, Best Global Music Performance and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.

“I am overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of love, affection, and blessings for my multiple Grammy wins. It is impossible for me to individually respond to all of you but be assured that you are all in my heart and I’m bowing to each and every one of you in thanks. It was a great day for India at the Grammys and I’m proud to be carrying the national flag,” he wrote on Instagram at the time.

At the 2024 Grammys, Hussain earned his first honour for best global music album for “This Moment” as part of the fusion music group Shakti, which includes founding member British guitarist John McLaughlin, as well as vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan and percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram.

He later won two other awards for the best global music performance for “Pashto” and best contemporary instrumental album for “As We Speak”, along with flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, American banjo player Bela Fleck and American bassist Edgar Meyer.

In January last year, the Shakti quintet reunited for a world tour in India to much excitement from fans.

Other than Shakti, Hussain also contributed to many groundbreaking collaborations, including Masters of Percussion, Planet Drum and Global Drum Project with Mickey Hart, Tabla Beat Science, Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland, CrossCurrents with Dave Holland and Chris Potter, in trio with Béla Fleck and Edgar Meyer, and, most recently, with Herbie Hancock.

Hussain composed three concertos. His third, the first-ever concerto for tabla and orchestra, was premiered in India in September 2015, by the Symphony Orchestra of India, in Europe and the UK in 2016, and in the US in April, 2017.

The composer who travelled and performed all across the globe had reservations against performing at private gatherings and disliked latecomers. He was also very vocal in his views.

In a conversation with author Nasreen Munni Kabir as written in her book “Zakir Hussain: A Life in Music”, Hussain said a private gathering, corporate events or weddings are not places “where music should be heard”.

“Those are places where people come to socialize, to drink and perhaps have a meal. That’s not the way music should be heard. For me, it’s the concert hall or the theatre-people take their seats, the hall darkens and we musicians take our place,” he said.

Hussain would ask the organisers to close the doors once the performance begins and not allow latecomers.

Then there was the man himself. His broad smile, boyish good looks and curly locks keeping rhythm with his fingers gave him a distinctive star persona that sometimes went beyond his music.

The percussionist was once voted the “sexiest man” by women readers of the Indian magazine “Gentleman” in 1994 in a competition against the likes of Amitabh Bachchan.

“The magazine team came to see me and wanted me to wear all these suits and jackets and Western clothes and feature on their cover. I think they were equally shocked and surprised that I won the greatest number of votes because they had assumed the winner would be Amitabh Bachchan,” Hussain is quoted as saying by Kabir.

Besides his work as a tabla player, Hussain also composed music for many movies, including “Manto” and “Mr and Mrs Iyer”.

He also acted in the Merchant Ivory film production “Heat and Dust”, “The Perfect Murder” and “Saaz”, opposite Shabana Azmi.

In 1988, Hussain became a household name as the face of the Taj Mahal Tea brand.

In a 33-second TV commercial, the ustad was shown immersed in his tabla riyaaz, only to later sip on a cup of Taj tea. The voiceover, by the famous Harish Bhimani, would then compliment Hussain’s skills saying “Wah Ustad, wah!”. To which, the percussionist would reply: “Arre huzoor, wah Taj boliye!” That “Wah Taj” became an oft used buzzword for many an occasion, and still remembered all these years later.

The same year, Hussain also shared screen space with his father Allah Rakha in the iconic national integration song “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara” which premiered on Doordarshan.

He is survived by his wife Antonia Minnecola and two daughters, Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi.

Apart from four Grammys, Hussain was the recipient of countless awards and honours, including Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the USA’s National Heritage Fellowship and Officier in France’s Order of Arts and Letters.

As his countless fans bid farewell to the artiste who transcended boundaries, of music and of geography, and went too soon, many could only say – “Wah Ustad”. 

New Delhi:

Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain died at a hospital in San Francisco, his family said on Monday.

Hussain died due to complications arising out of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to his family. He was 73.

He had been hospitalised for the last two weeks and was later taken to the ICU as his condition deteriorated.

Hussain has received four Grammy Awards in his career, including three at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year.

In his career spanning six decades, the musician worked with several renowned international and Indian artistes, but it was his 1973 musical project with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar, and percussionist TH ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram that brought together Indian classical and elements of jazz in a fusion hitherto unknown.

The percussionist, one of India’s most celebrated classical musicians, received the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, battling heart-related problems, died at a US hospital today. He was 73. 

His manager, Nirmala Bachani, said he was admitted to a hospital in San Francisco. 

“Zakir Hussain, the peerless North Indian tabla player, favors an impish strain of virtuosity. He’s a fearsome technician but also a whimsical inventor, devoted to exuberant play. So he rarely seems overbearing, even when the blur of his fingers rivals the beat of a hummingbird’s wings,” wrote New York Times about the artist when he performed at Carnegie Hall in 2009. 

The Bombay-born eldest son of legendary tabla player Allah Rakha, Zakir Hussain followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming a marquee name in India and across the world.

Once narrating the story of his first booking, the percussionist said a letter came to their house offering a concert date to his father. Zakir wrote back saying that his father would not be able to accept the engagement but that his son was available. However, he didn’t mention in the letter that he was only 13. It worked, and his musical career was under way. 

A recipient of many awards, he received five Grammy Awards in his career, including three at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year.

In a career spanning six decades, the musician worked with several renowned international and Indian artistes, but it was his 1973 musical project with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar, and percussionist TH ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram that brought together Indian classical and elements of jazz in a fusion hitherto unknown.

The percussionist, one of India’s most celebrated classical muscians, received the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023.

Zakir Hussain, the peerless tabla player and multiple Grammy award winner, is critical and in a US hospital over serious heart-related ailments, his family said on Sunday.

His manager, Nirmala Bachani, said the artist he has been in a San Francisco hospital for the last two weeks.

“My brother is deeply ill at this time. We are asking for all his fans around India and around the world to pray for him, to pray for his health. But as India’s greatest ever exports, do not finish him off just yet,” Zakir Hussain’s sister Khurshid Aulia told news agency PTI amid multiple reports that her brother had died.

“I just want to request all the media not to follow wrong information about Zakir’s passing. He is very much breathing at the moment. He is very very critical, but he’s still with us. He has not yet gone. So, I will request (the media) not to spread this rumour by writing or saying that he has passed away. I feel so bad watching all this information on Facebook which is very wrong,” she added.

“He is unwell and admitted in the ICU right now. We all are worried about the situation,” Zakir Hussain’s friend and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia also told the news agency.

Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and others posted on X paying tributes to the tabla maestro amid death reports though there was no official statement from Zakir Hussain’s family.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which posted about the artist’s death, later deleted its post on X. 

“I am Zakir Hussain nephew and he has not passed away. We ask for prayers for my Uncle’s health. Can you please remove this misinformation. He is in a serious condition and we ask for all his fans around the world to pray for his health,” said Ameer Aulia on X.

The Bombay-born eldest son of legendary tabla player Allah Rakha, Zakir Hussain followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming a marquee name in India and across the world.

“Zakir Hussain, the peerless North Indian tabla player, favors an impish strain of virtuosity. He’s a fearsome technician but also a whimsical inventor, devoted to exuberant play. So he rarely seems overbearing, even when the blur of his fingers rivals the beat of a hummingbird’s wings,” wrote New York Times about the artist when he performed at Carnegie Hall in 2009.

Once narrating the story of his first booking, the percussionist said a letter came to their house offering a concert date to his father. Zakir wrote back saying that his father would not be able to accept the engagement but that his son was available. However, he didn’t mention in the letter that he was only 13. It worked, and his musical career was under way.

The musician has worked with several renowned international and Indian artistes, but it was his 1973 musical project with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar, and percussionist TH ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram that brought together Indian classical and elements of jazz in a fusion hitherto unknown.

The percussionist, one of India’s most celebrated classical musicians, received the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023.