Tabla player Ustad Zakir Hussain passed away; was 73 years old; received Padma Vibhushan in 2023, was also a three Grammy Award winner

World famous tabla player and Padma Vibhushan Ustad Zakir Hussain has passed away. He was undergoing treatment in San Francisco. He breathed his last there. He was born on 9 March 1951 in Mumbai. Ustad Zakir Hussain was awarded Padma Shri in 1988, Padma Bhushan in 2002 and Padma Vibhushan in 2023.

Zakir Hussain had also received three Grammy Awards. His father’s name was Ustad Allah Rakha Qureshi and mother’s name was Biwi Begum. Zakir’s father Allah Rakha was also a tabla player. Zakir Hussain’s early education was from St. Michael’s School in Mahim, Mumbai. Apart from this, graduation was done from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

Zakir Hussain did his first concert in America at the age of just 11. In 1973, he launched his first album ‘Living in the Material World’.

Ustad Zakir Hussain used to play tunes with his fingers on seeing a flat surface. Zakir Hussain developed a passion for playing tunes since childhood. He used to play tunes with his fingers on seeing any flat surface. He did not even spare the utensils in the kitchen. He used to play with whatever he found, be it a tawa, a pot or a thali.

Zakir Hussain used to keep the tabla in his lap. In his early days, Ustad Zakir Hussain used to travel by train. Due to lack of money, he used to board the general coach. If he did not get a seat, he used to sleep by spreading a newspaper on the floor. During this time, he used to sleep with the tabla in his lap so that no one’s feet would touch it.

He got 5 rupees at the age of 12, which was of the highest value. When Zakir Hussain was 12 years old, he went to a concert with his father. Music legends like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Bismillah Khan, Pandit Shanta Prasad and Pandit Kishan Maharaj had attended that concert.

Zakir Hussain went on stage with his father. After the performance was over, Zakir got 5 rupees. In an interview, he mentioned this and said- I earned a lot of money in my life, but those 5 rupees were the most valuable.

America also respected Zakir Hussain. America, the most powerful country in the world, respected him. In 2016, former US President Barack Obama invited him to the White House to participate in the All Star Global Concert. Zakir Hussain was the first Indian musician to receive this invitation.

Zakir Hussain acted in a Hollywood movie with Shashi Kapoor. Zakir Hussain has also acted in some films. He made his debut with a 1983 British film Heat and Dust. Shashi Kapoor also acted in this film.

Zakir Hussain also acted in a 1998 film Saaz. Shabana Azmi was opposite him in this film. Zakir Hussain played the role of Shabana’s lover in this film.

Zakir Hussain was also offered the role of Salim’s younger brother in the film Mughal-e-Azam (1960), but his father did not approve of it at that time. He wanted his son to focus on music only.