Zakir Hussain Quotes

Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor, and composer (1951–2024)

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Zakir Hussain (Hindi: ज़ाकिर हुसैन, Urdu: ذاکِر حسین; 9 March 1951 – 15 December 2024) was an Indian musician, renowned in playing the tabla, an Indian percussion musical instrument. A child prodigy playing at the age of five he evolved to become the reigning king of tabla players. He was also musical producer, film actor and composer. He had rendered unforgettable solo as also many fusion music with other famous artists. He has 145 albums to his credit with Indian and western artists. He had also scored music for films and television serials. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, and Padma Bhushan in 2002. He was also recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990. He also received the United States National Endowment for the Arts's National Heritage Fellowship award in 1999.

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Native Name: ज़ाकिर हुसैन

Alternative Names: Zakir Hussain Allarakha Qureshi • Zakir Allarakha Qureshi • Zakir Hussain Qureshi • Zakir Allaraka Qureshi • Ustad Zakir Hussain

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You open London Times and you find reviews of Western classical music concerts finding pride of place even if the concerts themselves have less than 200 people in a hall meant for 1,500. They do this because they want to highlight what they see as their socio-cultural legacy.

What celebrity status, I think I am just a drummer. There are so many talented artists around here.

I firmly believe that the primary role of the tabla is saath-sangat. Which is why I enjoy being on stage with Shivji (Pt Shivkumar Sharma), Amjadbhai (Amjad Ali Khan) or Birju Maharaj. I look forward to these concerts. Unlike a solo concert where I am my own boss, here I have to strike a dialogue in the music-making process. This enriches and makes me a better musician and tabla player.

Suddenly I am like the poster boy of music, but I think the whole idea is to realise how deep is the base of Indian art and culture, how many fabulous young artistes there are, how many incredible great senior artistes are present today but not seen in limelight. We all have our turn at being the spokesperson for something or the other," the renowned musician.

Every time you step out on to the stage, you learn something which helps you grow and be a better communicator. It’s not like you’re the master. You’re always a student.

When I began there was an expectation that I play like Abbaji, but over the years luckily for me music lovers got around to accepting me for what I play... Look at others like Ustad Bismillah Khan’s son who has lost his way in trying to play shehnai like his father. Copying his father is one thing but taking his music forward is quite another.

The social media is making conventional media obsolete. So its becoming necessary to hawk anything to keep going. I don’t blame the media. But where do you draw the line? Within the scheme of things, is it not possible to keep track of one’s responsibility and help nurture cultural legacy? How else will the coming generations know of our culture?