Zakir Hussain Joins the Celestial Band
Ustad Zakir
Hussain has now joined the celestial band to delight a heavenly audience
including the divinities of music whom he worshipped – Shiva, Saraswati, Krishna,
and Ganesha.
Years ago, in
an interview he had said, I have much to learn, to make learning easy for
others, and miles to go before I sleep. True to his word, he had extensively toured
the world in 2023 and 2024 giving concerts and performances that delighted
connoisseurs of Hindustani classical music and global fusion music – for the creation
of which the Shakti Band (with McLaughlin and others) was a pioneer.
His speaking
fingers would continue to mesmerise his audience – worldly and heavenly.
Journey to Mount Kailash
Zakir loved
to innovate, surprise, and delight his audience. In an amazing video, he
produces the sounds of Damaru (Shiva’s percussion instrument played with one
hand) and Shankh (conch) through his tabla strokes.[i]
The humble maestro offered it as a tribute to Lord Shiva, the God of Music and Dance.[ii]
Before
playing, he said a few introductory words: Lord Shiva played the Damaru at
Mount Kailash, Ganesha heard the exquisite sound, and set it to music or Tala
through pakhavaj, his favourite instrument. All music originates from Damaru,
and Ganesha is the Deva who taught humans music. We are humble disciples of
those Great Masters.
Then he
requested the audience to imagine the primordial scene at Mount Kailash where
Lord Shiva played the Damaru, and his ganas (an army of fanatical followers
of Shiva, sometimes highly-excitable and difficult-to-control) blew the
conches.
‘I will
attempt to create that divine ambience through my tabla strokes. My performance
is an offering, a seva, a puja,’ he said.
As We Speak Pashto This Moment
Who are ‘We,’
and why are they speaking Pashto This Moment? That is a
no-brainer if you are a music lover. Five Indian musicians – Tabla maestro
Zakir Hussain, Flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, Singer Shankar Mahadevan, Violinist
Ganesh Rajagopalan, and Percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram - won Grammy 2024
Awards announced on February 4, 2024.[iii]
Ravi Shankar
was the first Indian musician to win a Grammy in 1968. Several other Indian
musicians have won Grammy Awards over the years, but 2024 was the Best Year for
Indian musicians at Grammy Awards since it commenced in 1959. Grammy is an
abbreviation for Gramophone, and each awardee gets a golden statuette of a
gramophone, that ancient device that played music records in the decades gone
by.
This Moment
This music
album by Shakti which won the Grammy Best Global Music Album has 8
tracks with total play-length of 57 minutes.
As We Speak
As We
Speak, which won the
Grammy Best Contemporary Instrumental album, has 12 tracks with play-length of 74
minutes.[iv]
The tracks
have interesting titles such as – Rickety Karma, Owl’s Misfortune, Trade Winds
Bengali, Beast in the Garden, etc. I have no clue, but there must be a good
reason for such interesting titles.
Pashto
Pashto which won the Grammy Best Global
Music Performance is a 12-minute track played by Bela Fleck (Benjo), Edger
Myers (Guitar), Zakir Hussain (Tabla), and Rakesh Chaurasia (Flute).[v]
Music: A Confluence of Cultures
Zakir said:
Music in India is a confluence of Hindu and Muslim cultures. We are all pujaris
of Saraswati. We grew up worshipping Saraswati, because she is the Goddess of
Music. India’s musical tradition originates from Shiva’s damru, Krishna’s flute,
Saraswati’s veena, Ganesha’s pakhavaj, and Nandi’s mridangam.
Zakir to Ustad
I was
playing with Pandit Ravi Shankar at Xavier’s College, Bombay. It was about 3.30
AM on 26th January 1988. From the nearby Times of India office, news
reached my father who was in the front row, and he passed it on to Pt. Ravi
Shankar, who put his sitar down, and announced: Ustad Zakir Hussain has been
awarded Padmashri. That was the first time I was called Ustad. I was not yet
37.
Zakir was
awarded Padma Bhushan (2002) and Padma Bibhushan (2023).
Tabla: Dignified
Of the
amazing variety of musical instruments of India[vi],
the Tabla was a humble percussion instrument to accompany great musicians
playing on sitar, sarod, santoor, etc. However, gifted musicians not merely
create beautiful, unique music; they also transform the status of the
instrument they play. Ustad Zakir Hussain, along with his illustrious father
and guru Alla Rakha, elevated the Tabla from an accompanying instrument to an
instrument which could be played solo and with endless creative possibilities.
Zakir Sings
Karan Thapar
interviewed him for The Wire in 2000.[vii]
At the end of the interview, upon Karan’s request, the Ustad sings a few lines
from his own composition:
रात ढलने लगी
बुझ गये हैं दिये
राह तकते हैं हम
जाने किसके लिये
and bows out by playing a tabla note on a
table and with his mouth.
Jugalbandis
Zakir has
jugalbandis with legendary maestros – Ustad Alla Rakha- his father and guru,
Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Kishan Maharaj, Pandit Hari
Prasad Chourasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma; and his peers
and juniors.
He has also
co-created music with others: Jai Hanuman with Amitabh Bachchan (vocal),
Shiva Shankara with Shankar Mahadevan (vocal) and Purbayan Chatterjee
(sitar); and many others.
Most of
these tracks and albums are available on Spotify, Jio Saavan, and You Tube. The
CDs and Audio-files may also be bought from Zakir Hussains web portal.
Humility
In his
tribute to Zakir, Pandit Sajan Mishra mentions: Artists always honour their elders
and ustads, but Zaakir Bhai also respectful to younger artists. He was five
years older than me, but while touching my elder brother Rajan Mishra’s feet,
he would also touch my feet. When I tried to dissuade him, he said, ‘I’m
offering my pranam to Saraswati who resides in you, not your feet.’
Early Initiation
A day after birth,
when Baby Quereshi, yet to be named, came home from the hospital, his father
cuddled him in his arms, and cooed into the baby’s ears no prayer as per custom,
but a musical rhythm much to the consternation of the devout mother to whom he
said, music is my religion. That might have given me an early induction into
music, said Zakir.
Born into a
Muslim family with a highly conservative mother, and a liberal father for whom
music was divine; Zakir grew up in an eclectic environment. He went to a Catholic school, attended church
and weekly mass, and graduated from St Xavier’s College, Bombay.
A child
prodigy, he was only 7 when he began training under his gifted father, and at 12
was proficient enough to accompany the maestros – Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan,
and Alla Rakha on stage. At 19, he became an Assistant Professor of Music at University
of Washington at Seattle, USA for which Pandit Ravi Shankar was instrumental.
Later, he was a full Professor at Princeton University for a year, and a visiting
Professor at Stanford University.
Farewell, Maestro!
Ustad Zakir
Hussain was a gifted musician, always eager to learn, experiment and innovate;
unfailingly humble, and with a great
sense of humour. He has left behind an enduring legacy that would inspire
future generations of musicians.
Farewell,
Maestro; keep charming all with your amazing music and winsome smile.
Further Readings
1. Zakir Hussain: A Life in Music – Nasreen Munni
Kabir
2. The Speaking Hand: Zakir Hussain and the Art
of the Indian Drum – A 2003 documentary by Sumantra Ghosal
3. Zakir Hussain:
The master percussionist who could reveal deeper truths than a million words
– Parul Pandya Dhar’s article in the Economic Times-22-12-2024
Postscript
[i] Both instruments - Damaru and Shankh – have great significance in Hindu mythology. Damaru represents the primal sound AUM, believed to be associated with creation, preservation, and destruction of the Universe. The sounds of Shankh herald all auspicious events. In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna blew the Panchajanya to declare the Kurukshetra war open, and the other Maharathis blew their respective conches – Arjuna (Devadatta), Bhima (Paundra), Yudhishthir (Anantavijaya), Nakula (Sughosha), and Sahadeva (Mani pushpaka). It was the great war to annihilate all evil, and hence auspicious.
[iii] On 4 February 2024, Hussain received three awards at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. Hussain's 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.
[vi] Musical Instruments of India
How many musical
instruments does India have? A credible
portal (indianculture.gov) provides a list of 278 musical instruments along
with pictures.
Bharat Muni in his Natya
Shastra (200 BC – 200 AD) provided a four-fold classification of musical
instruments:
• Avanaad Vadya – Membranophones or Percussion instruments
• Ghan Vadya – Autophones/Idiophones or solid instruments
• Sushir Vadya – Aerophones or Wind instruments
• Tat Vadya – Chordophones or Stringed instruments
European classification of musical instruments to Membranophones, Idiophones, Aerophones, and Chordophones is based on Bharat Muni’s classification.
Loved reading this! Written with love and great sensitivity. A fabulous tribute to a great artist and outstanding person.
ReplyDeleteNice tribute to great artist
ReplyDeleteSir nice tribute.
ReplyDeleteWonderful tribute. It mesmerises me.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a genius and gentle soul! great tribute. Never knew you were so versatile!
ReplyDelete