ZAKIR   HUSSAIN

 Zakir Hussain  A Life in Music  by Nasreen Muni Kabir; Published by  Harper Collins ; Pages 185;  Price Rs. 599/-

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Nasreen Munni Kabir is a London-based film-maker and author who has made several documentaries on Hindi cinema and  written many books on the subject. She curates the annual Indian film season on UK’s Channel 4 TV. She has published books based on her conversations with Gulzar,Waheeda Rahman,Lata and other film artists. In this  book  which has taken over two years and  sessions with Zakir, Nasreen Munni Kabir takes the reader through the life and times of Zakir Hussain. 

Zakir Hussain is a musician who has for over six decades practiced the art of the tabla, playing not only with four generations of master musicians of India, but accompanying many greats from the world of Western classical, rock and jazz music.

 He is an international music phenomenon. Tabla virtuoso, composer and percussionist,  he is the eldest son of the legendary Ustad Allarakha Qureshi. Zakir gave his first public concert at the age of seven and was immediately declared  as a child prodigy. His phenomenal  dexterity and amazing creativity led to him become one of the most sought-after accompanists to the very best of Hindustani classical musicians and dancers. He is also acknowledged to be among  the topmost jazz and world music percussionists of today.

 If the tabla hadn’t become his voice, music maestro Zakir Hussain said he would have been a jazz musician. Kabir’s book is a reminiscence his musical journey, his relationship with instruments, and with his father, the late Ustaad Allahrakha Qureshi, who, the musician says, sang a rhythm in his ear instead of reciting a prayer when he was born.

In 2017, Zakir was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the SF Jazz Gala 2017. “Jazz and Indian classical both believe in spontaneous creativity. I was the first boy in my neighbourhood that had a boombox. My father used to bring home jazz records that I used to listen to, especially Miles Davis, and that’s how I developed an interest,” he said.

It is important to build a relationship with your instrument. “Become friends with the instrument. Each instrument has a spirit of its own and half the battle is to get the spirit to accept you. Once you establish a relationship with the instrument, it stays with you,” he said adding that he has much to thank his father for.

Even his relationship with and mastery of the tabla is credited to his father, as Ustad Allahrakha did not bind him. “If I felt like I want to play cricket, I did that, and then I would practice. My father let me be, he let me practice when I wanted to,” he said.

While emphasising the importance of understanding the spirit of creative freedom and the true nature of music, the conversation touches on issues that have become relevant today. “From 3 am to 6 am, I practised slokas with my father, and then I went to the madrassa to read the Qu’ran. After that, I crossed the street to St Michael’s Church to listen to hymns and marched to my classes humming. Never has a priest or a mullah ever tried to teach me that what they are saying is the only truth. Those were different times,” he said.

Zakir recalls someone telling his mother that “I was an unlucky child because my birth coincided with this most distressing time for the family. My father, whom we called Abba, was  critically ill at that time at that time.”

 There is an interesting quote from Ali Akbar Khan—a father figure—“If you practice for ten years you may begin to please yourself. After twenty years you may become a performer and please the audience, after thirty years you may please even your guru, but you must practice many more years before you become a true artist—then you may please God.”

Zakir speaks with great warmth of the “Holy Trinity of Tabla Players”—Ustad Allarakha Khan, Pandit Samta Prasad and Pandit Kishan Maharaj.

Zakir’s “Shakti”—a milestone is unique and unparalleled in the universe of music and it was probably the first group of its kind to have explored without limit, the one salient feature that is common in Indian music and jazz—and that is improvisation.”

There is a graphic account of how Zakir gave music for Bernardo Bertolucci’s film “Little Buddha”

We have fascinating pen portraits of several artists notably Ravi Shankar,Pandit Narayan,Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Ustad Vilayat Khan as also the lovely members of his musical family. .

Zakir speaks of his undertaking twice what is known as Chilla. It is associated with Sufis and musicians. A kind of spiritual retreat. A vow of silence for  days ; going to a remote place  and be alone with music or meditation. Concentrate totally on what you do. If you are a tabla player, you play tabla. If you are a singer, you sing, etc.

We gleam from the book details of Zakir’s achievements. Zakir Hussain has performed at innumerable concerts both as a solo artist and with renowned jazz musicians on the grand stages of the world, from the Royal Albert Hall to Madison Square Garden. With John McLaughlin, L. Shankar and T.H. Vinayakram. He has acted in James Ivory's Heat and Dust and Sai Paranjpye's Saaz, and scored music for Aparna Sen (Mr. & Mrs. Iyer) and Ismail Merchant (In Custody, The Mystic Masseur); he has also played the tabla for many Hindi film soundtracks of the 1960s .

 A born storyteller, Zakir speaks with humour and humility of his understanding of music, his relationship with his students, his dedication and love for the tabla, and the way he negotiates life as an acclaimed celebrity living in both America and India.

This book is an outstanding account of the rise of an outstanding musician acclaimed both in the East and the West and above all a rare warm and cultured personality .

P.P.Ramachandran.

11/03/2018.