RIP Zakir Hussain: India's biggest cultural ambassador who took tabla global

With maestro Zakir Hussain's death on Sunday, India lost a national treasure, who enthralled thousands with his sheer brilliance in tabla and stunning on-stage performance. Hussain, born son of the legendary Alla Rakha Khan in 1951 in Mumbai, not only carried the legacy of his great father but also popularised the ancient Indian percussion instrument across the globe, sometimes with his East-West fusions.

Hussain's foray into music happened as young as two days old. The maestro, in his early interviews, recalled how his famous father sang the basic rhythm of tabla in his ear instead of prayers after he was brought home from the hospital. "My father, when he took me in his arm, instead of reciting prayer, he sang rhythm in my ear. And my mother was very upset, and said 'Why are you doing this? And he said, 'Because this is my prayer'.

He spent his childhood learning and practising every morning and by 12, he was already touring. By his mid-teens, Hussain's music took him to the West as Indian music had already gained a following across the West. His global tryst brought him close to Western rock music and Hussain wanted to be a rockstar. He shared his dream with none other than George Harrison of the Beatles, who dawned upon him the uniqueness of his music and the brilliant culture he represented.

Tabla stayed with Hussain as he went on to perform internationally. By the late 1960s, Hussain had relocated to San Francisco. He went on to collaborate with stalwarts like violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz guitarist John McLaughlin. In 1976, Hussain collaborated with McLaughlin, L. Shankar on violin, and T.H. 'Vikku' Vinayakram on ghatam, for the new album called 'Shakti' which created a revolution in the world of fusion music.

Fifty years later, he recreated the new Shakti album This Moment which went on to win the Best Global Music Album award. He collaborated with John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan, V. Selvaganesh, and Ganesh Rajagopalan for the album.

Hussain went on to create magical fusions, blending seamlessly traditional and Western music. His experimentation won him admirers, setting the stage for Indo-Fusion. The tabla virtuoso later recalled in an interview with Rolling Stone India how composing a piece with a Western classical orchestra in mind requires a completely different mindset. "It’s a different ceiling. One has to adapt to the rules of their playing, their dos and don’ts while maintaining the Indian classical form," he said.  

He went on to be a part of albums by Irish singer Van Morrison and the group 'Earth Wind & Fire', Mickey Hart. In 1986, he made the album Making Music featured McLaughlin, Chaurasia, and Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek. In 1990, he was part of Hart’s project Planet Drum, along with Vinayakram, Sikiru Adepoju and Babatunde Olatunji of Nigeria, Giovanni Hidalgo and Frank Colon of Puerto Rico, and Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira and his wife Flora Purim.

Hussain also performed Indian classical music legends, including Pandit Ravi Shankar, sarod masters Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, santoor great Pt Shivkumar Sharma, flautist Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, among others over the last five decades.

The percussionist received the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023.

The musician also made waves in India when he starred in a TV advertisement for Taj Mahal Tea, which made the catchphrase 'Wah Taj!' an instant hit. He also starred in James Ivory’s Heat & Dust (1983) and Sai Paranjpye’s Saaz (1997).

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