Musicians from Bengal mourn the death of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain

KOLKATA: Sarod maestro Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar is heartbroken and struggling to accept that Ustad Zakir Hussain is no more.

Widely regarded as the greatest tabla player of his generation, Hussain was supposed to perform with Majumdar at the Swara Samrat Festival (SSF), a renowned four-day annual celebration of Indian classical music in Kolkata.

“Zakir and SSF were inseparable. We were scheduled to perform together, but he left us too soon. With his music, he put India on the global map and elevated the status of Indian classical music and its musicians,” Majumdar said.

Legendary singer Usha Uthup fondly remembered Hussain for the extraordinary person he was. “Beyond being a phenomenal musician, he was a wonderful human being…one of the kindest souls. You can’t imagine the tabla without thinking of him,” she said. The maestro passed away at the age of 73 in San Francisco due to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as confirmed by an official statement from his family on Monday. Born in Mumbai, he was the world’s most renowned tabla player and is survived by his wife, Antonia Minnecola, and his daughters, Anisa and Isabella Qureshi.

The son of the legendary tabla master Ustad Alla Rakha, Hussain was known for his “dancing fingers.” Over the years, he was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023. In 2024, he became the first Indian musician to win three Grammy Awards in a single year, adding to his earlier Grammy win in 2009.

For Bengal’s celebrated tabla player Tanmoy Bose, Hussain’s legacy will live as long as classical music exists. “He was a pioneer who single-handedly brought the tabla to the global stage. It’s an extraordinary achievement. We’re all following the path he showed us,” Bose said. Sarod maestro Pandit Debojyoti Bose reflected on his close personal bond with the tabla legend. “Ustad Zakir Hussain’s father, Ustad Alla Rakha Khan, was a dear friend of my father, which gave me the unique privilege of spending time with him.

Zakir Bhai performed solo with me three times between 1992 and onward, purely because of our family connection and my grandfather’s relationship with him. His demise is an irreplaceable loss,” he said.