Published: 07:55 AM, 16 December 2024
Unmatched Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain passes away
u
Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, battling heart-related problems, died at a US hospital yesterday (15 December 2024 Sunday). He was 73 years old at the time of his death. His manager, Nirmala Bachani, said he was admitted to a hospital in San Francisco. "Zakir Hussain, the peerless North Indian tabla player, favors an impish strain of virtuosity. He's a fearsome technician but also a whimsical inventor, devoted to exuberant play. So he rarely seems overbearing, even when the blur of his fingers rivals the beat of a hummingbird's wings," wrote New York Times about the artist when he performed at Carnegie Hall in 2009.
Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, battling heart-related problems, died at a US hospital yesterday (15 December 2024 Sunday). He was 73 years old at the time of his death. His manager, Nirmala Bachani, said he was admitted to a hospital in San Francisco. "Zakir Hussain, the peerless North Indian tabla player, favors an impish strain of virtuosity. He's a fearsome technician but also a whimsical inventor, devoted to exuberant play. So he rarely seems overbearing, even when the blur of his fingers rivals the beat of a hummingbird's wings," wrote New York Times about the artist when he performed at Carnegie Hall in 2009.
The Bombay-born eldest son of legendary tabla player Allah Rakha, Zakir Hussain followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming a marquee name in India and across the world.
Once narrating the story of his first booking, the percussionist said a letter came to their house offering a concert date to his father. Zakir wrote back saying that his father would not be able to accept the engagement but that his son was available. However, he didn't mention in the letter that he was only 13. It worked, and his musical career was under way.
As news spread, tributes poured in from leaders, industrialists, musicians from all over India and beyond.
An Indian cabinet member Nitin Gadkari described Zakir Hussain's death as an "irreparable loss to the country's art and music sector".
>>Agency
