Requiem for Allarakha: The World of Music Has Been Stunned and Silenced With the Passing of Zakir Hussain
- To us Indians who grew up in the 80s and the 90s, he was the flamboyant face of everything that was pure and deep about Hindustani classical music, the world of rhythm and taal.
Ustad Zakir Hussain Allarakha Qureshi sahib (March 9, 1951 – December 15, 2024) is no more. The world of music has been stunned and silenced since we all came to know of his demise at age 73, in San Fransisco, California. In a statement, his family said the cause of death was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. “His prolific work as a teacher, mentor and educator has left an indelible mark on countless musicians. He hoped to inspire the next generation to go further. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy as a cultural ambassador and one of the greatest musicians of all time,” his family added.
To us Indians who grew up in the 80s and the 90s, he was the flamboyant and precious face of everything that was pure and deep about Hindustani classical music, the world of rhythm and taal, of tradition and carry forward of a legacy, and adding so much more to that legacy. And so much more!
“Wah! Ustaad! Wah!” The few seconds of appearance in the now-legendary advertisement for Taj Mahal Tea is still engraved in our collective memory — that boyish, happy face surrounded by oodles of flyaway curls, and his hands weaving their magic on a pair of tabla, the famed percussion instrument from India that has become synonymous with his name and before him, his father Alla Rakha’s.
Zakir Allaraka Qureshi was born in present-day Mumbai, to the legendary tabla maestro Alla Rakha Qureshi. He attended St. Michael’s High School in Mahim and graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He was born precocious. In an interview, he used to often narrate an incident from his birth — when his father and later his guru Alla Rakha was asked to whisper a few words of wisdom in the newborn’s ears per custom, his father instead played a taal and rhythm into the baby Zakir Hussain’s ear. The baby, apparently, was bewitched, since that moment to the tune and rhythmic claps of the tabla.
Hussain was extraordinaire — born to a family to extraordinary talent and who not just wore that legacy with pride and honor, he did so much more as a man, an artist, as a tabla player, composer, percussionist, music producer, and film actor. Much like another legend, Pandit Ravi Shankar did with sitar, Zakir Hussain brought classical Indian music to a global audience. He collaborated and innovated with tremendous talent, while still maintaining the legacy and authenticity of his Indian classical roots. His career spanned over five decades, during which he was revered as both a national treasure in India and admired worldwide. He defied genres and collaborated with an impressive range of musicians, including jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd, bluegrass artists Edgar Meyer and Béla Fleck, as well as rockstars George Harrison and Van Morrison.
Hussain was a living legend, but he also was the most humble, unassuming Master you could ever find, who wore his crown lightly. “You know, you come from India and you say, ‘OK, I’m representing a 3,000-year-old history,’ so you think you’re gonna teach the world about rhythms and drums and so on,” he told NPR in 2015. “And then you arrive here. You suddenly realize that you know nothing. You’re just one little dot in the painting that is the music of the universe.”
Hussain was that he never, ever played tabla for a private audience. In a conversation with author Nasreen Munni Kabir, as written in her book “Zakir Hussain: A Life in Music,” he stated that he did not play at private gatherings, corporate events, or weddings; he believed music should not be heard at events where folks come to socialize, drink or enjoy a meal (music should be the sole purpose of the event).
Hussain was an innovator, and he collaborated and experimented with various genres and instruments all his life. He collaborated with Vikku Vinayakram and formed the world-fusion band called Shakti. Hussain was a founding member of Bill Laswell’s world music supergroup Tabla Beat Science. In 1992 Planet Drum, an album co-created and produced by Hussain and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, was awarded the first-ever Grammy for Best World Music Album, the Downbeat Critics’ Poll for Best World Beat Album and the NARM Indie Best Seller Award for a World Music Recording.
In 2016, Hussain was amongst many musicians invited by President Obama to the International Jazz Day 2016 All-Star Global Concert at the White House. He was awarded the United States National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship, the highest award given to traditional artists and musicians. He was also awarded the Government of India’s Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Ratna Sadsya in 2018. He received seven Grammy Award nominations, with four wins, including three in 2024.
Hussain composed, performed and acted as Indian music advisor for the Malayalam film “Vanaprastham,” a 1999 Cannes Film Festival entry. Itwas nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (AFI Fest) in 1999, and won awards at 2000 Istanbul International Film Festival (Turkey), 2000 Mumbai International Film Festival (India), and 2000 National Film Awards (India). He composed soundtracks for several movies, most notably “In Custody” and “The Mystic Masseur” by Ismail Merchant and has played tabla on the soundtracks of Francis Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Little Buddha,” and other films. He starred in several films specifically showcasing his musical performance both solo and with different bands, including the 1998 documentary “Zakir and His Friends,” and the documentary “The Speaking Hand: Zakir Hussain and the Art of the Indian Drum” (2003 Sumantra Ghosal). He co-starred as Inder Lal in the 1983 Merchant Ivory film “Heat and Dust,” for which he was an associate music director.
Hussian was married to Antonia Minnecola, a Kathak dancer and teacher, who was also his manager. They have two daughters, Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi. He is also survived by two brothers — Taufiq Qureshi a percussionist, and Fazal Qureshi, also a tabla player; and his sister Khurshid.
Hussain was awarded the titles of Padma Shri in 1988, Padma Bhushan in 2002, and Padma Vibhushan in 2023. He was awarded the Indo-American Award in 1990 in recognition of his outstanding cultural contribution to relations between the United States and India. He was presented with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990 by the President of India, making him one of the youngest musicians to receive this recognition given by India’s National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama.
Recipient of a 1999 National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the United States government’s honor, presented by First Lady Hillary Clinton at the United States Senate on Sept. 28, 1999. He was the recipient of the Kalidas Samman in 2006, an award for artists of exceptional achievement, from the Government of Madhya Pradesh. On Jan. 18, 2017, the San Francisco Jazz Center gave Hussain a Lifetime Achievement Award. And in the year 2019, the Sangeet Natak Academy, honored Hussain with the Academy Fellow award, also known as the Academy Ratna, for the year 2018.
On Feb. 4, 2024, Hussain received three awards at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. His first win came for “Pashto,” written and recorded in collaboration with American banjo player Béla Fleck, American bassist Edgar Meyer and Indian flautist Rakesh Chaurasia. Hussain’s second Grammy of the night was for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, which he won alongside Fleck, Meyer and Chaurasia, for the eclectic classical-meets-jazz album, “As We Speak.” His third win of the night came for the album “This Moment,” the critically acclaimed comeback of the pioneering world-fusion band Shakti.
The world shall forever miss him and his music and muse — the tabla. Thank you Ustaad!
Kuhu Singh is a writer with an interest in social justice, cultural and political matters, here in the U.S., in India, and beyond.