Ustad Zakir Hussain Couldn't Imagine His Existence Without The Tabla: It’s The Bed I Sleep In…

Zakir Hussain Death: Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain breathed his last at a hospital in San Francisco, California. The legendary percussionist and composer had been undergoing treatment for heart-related ailments for the past two weeks, but succumbed at the age of 73. Hussain is credited with taking Tabla to the global stage.

He started playing Tabla at the age of 3 and started touring when he was just 11. He recalled getting paid ₹100 for his first show in India while he was still in his pre-teens. Hussain collaborated with ace Indian and international musicians throughout his musical career, while taking classical Indian music to newer heights.

What Hussain said about his relationship with the Tabla

Son of legendary musician Alla Rakha, Ustad Zakir Hussain said his father believed every instrument has a spirit, and as a student of music it was important to have an intimate bond with it. “My father always said that each instrument has a spirit and if you are a student, half the battle is to get that spirit to accept you as a mate, as a friend. Once that happens, the instrument reveals how you should react to it, touch it and express yourself through it,” Hussain told PTI in an interview.

“Music is my world. It is the garb I wear. Tabla is a mate, it is a brother, a friend, it’s the bed I sleep in… I am at a point where my relationship with the spirit of my tabla is special. I find myself at a place where I cannot imagine that I can exist without it. It motivates me to get up in the morning and say, ‘hello’,” Hussain, who started as a child prodigy, further shared.

Ustad Zakir Hussain on his family: Everything is art and music

Zakir Hussain belonged to a family of artists and passed on his legacy to his two daughters. Music and arts have had a profound impact on his life, and even his family. “My wife (Antonia Minnecola) is a dancer, my one daughter is a filmmaker, and my other daughter is a ballet teacher, so everything is art and music," Hussain had shared about the coming generation in his family.