• This tribute includes Zakir Hussain’s life, achievements, collaborations with Western musicians and Awards given across India and USA. 

The renowned Indian tabla maestro, Ustad Zakir Hussain, who reshaped the identity of the tabla, elevating the instrument’s stature across the globe, passed away in USA on December 15, 2024. He was 73. 

Zakir Hussain died due to complications arising from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung condition that leads to progressive scarring of lung tissues. He had been hospitalised for two weeks before his death and was moved to the ICU as his health deteriorated.

Ustad Zakir Hussain was also a composer, a percussionist, a music producer and a film actor. He was the eldest son of the tabla player Alla Rakha, and is widely considered one of the greatest tabla players of all time. Like his father Ustad Alla Rakha Khan, Zakir was very close to the Bhavan. Alla Rakha had worked as a staff member of Bhavan’s Sangeet and Nartan Shikshapeeth in the early days of his career. Zakir staged many shows at the Bhavan's Auditorium. Zakir Hussain was born on March 9, 1951, in Mumbai. He attended St. Michael’s High School in Mahim and graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. 

This article was first published in the Bhavan Journal.

Zakir played in George Harrison’s 1973 album Living in the Material World and John Handy’s 1976 album Hard Work. He also performed in Van Morrison’s 1979 album Into the Music and Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1983 album Powerlight.

Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, who had known Zakir since the 1960s, invited him to create the special album Planet Drum, featuring drummers from different parts of the world. Featured along with Zakir, from India, was Vikku Vinayakram, with whom he had collaborated in Shakti (a fusion band).

The first Planet Drum album, released in 1991, on the Rykodisc label, went on to earn the 1992 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album, the first Grammy ever awarded in this category. The Global Drum Project album and tour brought Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju and Giovanni Hidalgo together again in a reunion sparked by the 15th anniversary of the Planet Drum album. The album Global Drum Project won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 51st Grammy Awards ceremony held on February 8, 2009.

Zakir Hussain composed, performed and acted as Indian music advisor for the Malayalam film Vanaprastham, a 1999 Cannes Film Festival entry which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (AFI Fest) in 1999, and won awards at the 2000 Istanbul International Film Festival (Turkey), the 2000 Mumbai International Film Festival (India), and the 2000 National Film Awards (India).

He composed soundtracks for several movies, most notably for In Custody and The Mystic Masseur by Ismail Merchant, and played the table for 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) which was directed by Sumantra Ghosal. Zakir co-starred as Inder Lal in the 1983 Merchant-Ivory film Heat and Dust, for which he was an associate music director.

Zakir Hussain was a founding member of Bill Laswell’s world music super group Tabla Beat Science. In 2016, he was amongst many musicians invited by President Obama to the International Jazz Day 2016 All-Star Global Concert at the White House.

Haridas Vhatkar has been making Zakir Hussain’s tablas for more than 18 years. Haridas said he learned how to make a tabla, so that he could specially make them for Zakir. 

Zakir 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 socialise, drink or enjoy a meal. (Music should be the sole purpose of the event.)

Nasreen Munni Kabir compiled 15 interview sessions (each lasting about 2 hours) from 2016 to 2017 into the book Zakir Hussain: A Life in Music, which was published in 2018. This book takes the reader through Zakir’s life from his youth, his years of intense training, and his growth as a musician. 

Zakir married Antonia Minnecola, a Kathak dancer and teacher, who was also his manager. They had two daughters, Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi. Anisa graduated from UCLA and is a film-maker. Isabella is studying dance in Manhattan.

Zakir Hussain has two brothers: Taufiq Qureshi who is a percussionist and Fazal Qureshi, a tabla player. Their brother Munawar died at a young age when he was attacked by a rabid dog. His eldest sister Bilquis died before Zakir was born. Another sister, Razia, died due to complications during a cataract surgery, just a few hours before their father’s death in 2000. He also has another sister named Khurshid. 

Zakir Hussain was named an Old Dominion Fellow by the Humanities Council at Princeton University, where he resided for the 2005–2006 semester as full professor in the music department. He was also a visiting professor at Stanford University. In May 2022, he was conferred the honorary Doctor of Law (LLD) degree for his contribution to the field of music by Mumbai University. 

The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Sri (1998), the Padma Bhushan (2002) and the Padma Vibhushan (2023).

Zakir was also awarded the Govt. of India’s Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990, and the Shraddhanjali Natak Akademi Fellowship, Ratna Sadasya, in 2018. In 1999, he was awarded the United States National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship, the highest award given to traditional artistes and musicians. Zakir received seven Grammy Award nominations, with four wins. He received three Grammys in February 2024. 

Bhavan worldwide prays to the Almighty to give eternal peace and tranquillity to the departed soul, and strength to the bereaved family to bear this loss.

This article was first published in the Bhavan’s Journal, January 16, 2025  issue. This article is courtesy and copyright Bhavan’s Journal, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai-400007. eSamskriti has obtained permission from Bhavan’s Journal to share. Do subscribe to the Bhavan’s Journal – it is very good.