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Making of a maestro
Updated On: 14 March, 2020 07:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Dalreen Ramos
A new picture book brings to life Zakir Hussain's childhood and the cultural diversity he imbibed on his way to becoming a top world musician
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Last month, the city saw the India premiere of Ameen, Amen, Shanti, a concerto for four soloists composed by Ustad Zakir Hussain. Addressing the idea in multiple interviews, he spoke about his "normal" upbringing: waking up at 3 am to learn about Indian rhythms and stories of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Saraswati, visiting the madrasa to recite and memorise the Quran Sharif, and then sing hymns at Mahim's St Michael's Church before heading to his classroom. These facts, although now known to the world, are illuminated in the newly released picture book Zakir and His Tabla (Tulika Books) in a different light.
Written by Sandhya Rao and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan, this anecdote seems to not only encapsulate his culturally diverse upbringing and its importance in music today but also seems to have foreshadowed his path to worldwide recognition. As Kuriyan says, "You might think of people as talented but it ultimately bottles down to waking up at 3 am. It shows the amount of practice is takes to become perfect." Discipline is a universal language and it's what the first page of the book shows you when Hussain's father Ustad Allarakha Qureshi asks his child, "Do you want to learn to play the tabla?" Faced with an enthusiastic "yes", he wakes him up at 3 am the next day. This eagerness to learn and experiment doesn't die down: the rudiments of percussion make their way to Amma's cheeks, pots and pans, and as a consequence of his antics, dal on his T-shirt.
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