Mumbai: Ustad Zakir Hussain, the cult figure of Hindustani music, breathed his last in the United States yesterday. His unexpected demise cast a spell of gloom on the world of music. Every music lover, irrespective of his caste, creed or language is genuinely shocked and grieved by the sudden exit that the great performer has taken.
Over the last two months,he was cancelling his programme bookings citing health reasons. No organizer believed that the health issue could be so serious that they could be permanently deprived of Zakir Hussian’s majestic presence on the stage.
The 73 year old maestro earned the distinction of being addressed as the ‘Ustad’ at a very young age thanks to his precocity and virtuosity. Very few city dwellers know that Zakir Hussain was a Mahim Kapad Bazar boy who grew up in the vicinity of Mahim and Shivaji Park area.
He was formally educated at the St Michel’s school and joined the St. Xavier’s College. The Indian Music Group of the college began organizing music festivals in a big way since 1977. The ‘Jan Fest’ became the ‘in thing’ with the young hep crowd thanks to the presence of ‘Zek’ as he was lovingly called. His ‘Padmashree’ was announced in the wee hours on the Republic Day when he was accompanying the great Pandit Ravi Shankar who was virtually his Godfather.
In the Mahim area lived musicians of the calibre of sitar wizard Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, tabla maestro Nizamuddin, composer/mandolin maestro Sajjad Hussain, Gazal singer Taj Ahmed. The ‘sobat’ (company) of these great masters and the actual ‘talim’ of his father and guru Ustad Alla Rakha Khan moulded Zakir Hussain into a great performer.
His first big appearance was at the famous Sawai Gandharva Festival held in Pune every year. It was hosted by Bhimsen Joshi to commemorate his master Sawai Gandharva. The tiny 7 year old boy stunned the entire audience by his spellbinding performance. There was no stopping him after that moment. He never looked back.
He performed solo tabla recitals at Ustad Amir Hussain Khan’s ‘barsee’ and earned the appreciation of hard boiled tabla aficionados.
It was Ravi Shankar who gave Zakir the real break on the international circuits. It was his sheer talent and terrific hard work which catapulted him to worldwide fame. He engaged in experimental duets and interactive programmes with world famous celebrity musicians and himself rose in stature by leaps and bounds.
Zakir was one of the most versatile tabla players. He played solo, played brilliantly as an accompanist with Ravi Shankar, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Hari Prasad Chaurasia and dance legend Birju Maharaj. His performance as an unfailing artiste turned him into the most sought after Hindustani musician. His commercial clip used as a promotional by ‘Taj Tea’ was a super duper hit and he became a household name.
He was one of the most well-behaved celebrities. He treated his fellow musicians, well-known or unknown, with unfailing courtesy. He was a friendly comrade to fellow musicians as well as common music lovers, and a role model to countless and aspiring youngsters. He will be sorely missed on the concert platform for a long time to come.
A real heartthrob is back in the wings forever. (The author is a noted classical music critic)
