Immerse in Dayanita Singh's exhibition that pays tribute to Zakir Hussain

There are certain moments in the lifetime of an individual when history offers an invisible hand It requires a bit of chutzpah to take that moment head on It was one such moment in 1986 that led an 18yearold Dayanita Singh on a pathway that interspersed with one of the brightest stars of the 20th Century Indian musical firmament Ustad Zakir Hussain The exhibition Zakir Hussain mdash Learning to Learn A tribute by Dayanita Singh is a testament to that journeyA moment in timeOddly the first South Asian to win the famed Hasselblad Award says photography was the last thing on her mind in 1986 ldquoI was studying typography The class assignment was to photograph the moods of a person I thought I would capture Zakirji Hussain since he was performing and because he was so expressiverdquo the 65yearold celebrated photographer recallsThe front and right back cover of Zakir Hussainrsquos first solo LPAs fate would have it an organiser did not like that A shove turned into a sliding door moment ldquoI waited on the steps for him to come out When he did I stood there with hands on my hips and said lsquoMr Hussain I am a student today but someday I might be an important photographerrdquo she reveals almost amusedAt the relaunch of Singhrsquos first book as the Zakir Hussain Maquette in Mumbai in 2019 Ustad Zakir Hussain shared the reason behind his decision to choose her as his mentee As Singh tells us ldquoHe said lsquoIn her I saw myself when I was 18 in America wanting to do something but not knowing whatrsquordquoThe Ustadrsquos school of focusBut what does it mean to have a mentor who is a master of a completely different art form than yours ldquoI tell people I am a student of the Ustad Zakir Hussain school of focus There was a philosophical learning about what it meant to commit to the life of an artiste the discipline the focus and the riyaz You learn to always be the student I donrsquot know if an arts school would have taught me thatrdquo she admitsAbbaji Ustad Alla Rakha Khan with Ustad Zakir Hussain during a riyazNo surprise then that the exhibition at the Dilip Piramal Art Gallery is titled lsquoLearning to Learnrsquo This learning was not limited to philosophy In shadowing the Ustad Singh learned to hide in plain sight ldquoHe loved the fact that I did not use a flash I would photograph on 400 ISO film and push it to 1600 ISO As a habit I also never photograph from the front of the stage I choose from above the wings or the green roomrdquo she sharesBehind the scenesThe initiation into the green room of Hindustani Classical music was one of the great privileges says the photographer who captured names and personalities like Ustad Vilayat Khan Mohiuddin Dagar Sahab Kishan Maharaj and Pandit Ravi Shankar Close to 200 photographs from these informal moments make it to the exhibitionA view of the late Ustadrsquos accompaniments on the stageSingh would also go on to photograph the maestro for his first solo LP with HMV ldquoWhen he suggested my name to the label I got a little emboldened I offered to design the LP cover I had never done that before or afterrdquo she revealsThese little moments offer an insight into the late Ustadrsquos personality While his musical prowess needs no explanation his empathy stands out ldquoHe was so sure of himself Yet he spoke to every individual he met like they were the most important peoplerdquo she says Like the attendant at Karimrsquos in Delhi that he would visit just to hear the menu being recited like tabla bols ldquoThe outpouring you witnessed upon his passing was because each person felt a personal lossrdquo shares the studentBeyond the stageA poster designed by Singh using phrases uttered by the late Ustad Zakir HussainEvery child who ever imitated the Ustadrsquos Wah Taj ad with inverted buckets knows that connection Singh who shot him for the ad and recalls it as an important moment ldquoA few classical musicians questioned it Theyrsquod say that classical music is Shahi Biryani why is he turning it into a common pulao His answer was that lsquoIf the ad gets two more people into the audience that is good enough In that moment he taught me that the dissemination of art is just as much the responsibility of the artisterdquo she addsPicsRane AshishHis passing is understandably a personal loss for the photographer ldquoIn 2009 when I displayed at the Venice Biennale he sent me a congratulatory message I quite cheekily responded ldquoSee even I am a star nowrsquo He simply wrote back ldquoI hope you never start to believe that Because the day you do it will be overrsquo Thatrsquos the kind of gentle wisdom he hadrdquo Singh recallsON December 13 to February 3 8 am to 9 pmAT Dilip Piramal Art Gallery NCPA Nariman PointLOG ON TO ncpamumbaicomENTRY Free members Rs 500 allday passAlso CatchUstads Fazal Qureshi left and Zakir Hussain in 2008gtgt Forever FriendsJohn McLaughlin Louis Banks Ganesh Rajagopalan Ranjit Barot and V Selvaganesh among others in performanceON December 14 630 pmAT Jamshed Bhabha Theatregtgt Screenings of Films on Zakir HussainON December 14 and 15 1030 am onwards AT Godrej Dance Theatregtgt Influence of different table gharanas on Zakir HussainON December 14 12 pmAt Experimental Theatregtgt Family and FriendsON December 15 630 pmAT Jamshed Bhabha Theatre