The Music Maestro- Zakir Hussain

The Music Maestro- Zakir Hussain

Zakir Hussain, a well known personality in the world of music was born on 9th March 1951 to the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. Alla Rakha developed a keen interest to music in Zakir Hussain’s heart and soul. He had received a PhD in Music from the University of Washington.

Since a very young age, he visited many places and gave solo tabla performances. He always enjoyed and learned musical skills from leading legends like Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pt. VG Jog, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Jasraj and many more. Hussain married Antonia Minnecola, a Kathak dancer and teacher, and also his manager. They have two daughters, named Isabella Qureshi and Anisa Qureshi. Zakir Hussain is not only an Indian tabla player in Indian classical music, but also a music producer, film actor and composer. A number of awards have been achieved by him including Padma Shri in 1988, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990, Kalidas Samman in 2006, Padma Bhushan in 2002 and 51st Grammy Awards in 2009. He was also awarded the United States National Endowment the highest award that is given to traditional artists and musicians, for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship in 1999. He also performed in many films and gave musical performances, both solo and bands, including the documentary named "Zakir and His Friends" and the "The Speaking Hand: Zakir Hussain and the Art of the Indian Drum."

By- Anita Aishvarya

Content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakir_Hussain_(musician)