16 January,2010 07:43 AM IST | | Aditi Sharma
Tabla wizard Ustad Zakir Hussain first played with santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, when he was just 16. On Sunday, the all-time favourite jodi makes a comeback on Mumbai stage
Ustad Zakir Hussain and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma share more than an undying passion for music. They both hail from Jammu and are foodies to the core. This weekend, catch them live in the city at The Splendor of Mastersu00a0-- Together...Through The Decades concert organised by Banyan Tree Eventsu00a0
2001, Mumbai concert held in remembrance of Jialal Vasant,
Indian classical musician and music instructor
The Santoor is spiritual
Watching two geniuses on a common platform is a rare experience. Those who have watched Panditji and Zakir bhai perform live will vouch that the jodi is capable of taking their audiences into a spiritual realm. "When I get on to a stage to play music, I don't go there as an entertainer. Even when I'm playing the santoor for myself, it's about enjoying spiritual bliss. When I perform, I share that bliss with my listeners," Panditji says in an interview over the phone. The jugalbandi works because, as Zakir bhai confesses, "Shivji is one of those musicians who often pushes me to expand my creative imagination."
Playing with his mentor
The two geniuses performed together in Mumbai first, in 1967. Zakir bhai, then barely a 16 year old, accepted Panditji as his mentor. "He has been a mentor and guide all through our association that spans over 30 years, and the conversation we have is illuminating for me," he says. Panditji, for his part, attributes the special chemistry to the fact that he has seen his accompanist grow up. "Zakir was very young when he started playing with me. I've seen him mature gradually, as we have played together."
With father, then son
The fact that the two legends share a relationship beyond "musical companionship" adds to the magic. "It's a personal relationship. Like me, Ustad Allah Rakha Khan, Zakir's father, also came from Jammu. I shared a very close relationship with him. When I went abroad for the first time in 1968, Abbaji (as Ustad Allah Rakha Khan was fondly called) played with me during my tours. Later, Zakir took over. So, there's an emotional bond that seeps into the music you hear."
On: January 17 at 7 pm at Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Auditorium, Sion. Call: 9892132711. Donor Cards: Rs 1,000, to Rs 200 available at Rhythm House: 43222701, Landmark, Andheri (W): 26396010, Maharashtra Appliances: 66625661
Know your maestros
Ustad Zakir Hussain
>>Born on 9 March 1951
in Mumbai to legendary tabla player Ustad Allah Rakha.
>>Awarded the titles of Padma Shri in 1988, and Padma Bhushan in 2002, becoming the youngest percussionist to be awarded these titles.
>>Has acted in and composed music for films such as Vanaprastham and Ismail Merchant's In Custody and The Mystic Masseur. He has also played the tabla on the soundtracks of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, Bernardo Bertolucci's Little Buddha.
Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma
>>Born on January 13, 1938 in Jammu to singer Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma, who started teaching him vocals and tabla at the age of five, and later decided that his son would be the first musician to play Indian classical music on the santoor.
>>Awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
>>Has composed music for V Shantaram's Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje. Along with great flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivji has composed music for Hindi films Silsila, Faasle, Chandni, Lamhe and Darr.
