Ustad Zakir Husseinthe doyen of Hindustani classical music who won multi-genre acclaim for his experimental collaborations, has died at the age of 73 in the US. His family said in a statement that the tabla virtuoso died of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. His family said in a statement, “His great work as a teacher, mentor and teacher left an indelible mark on many artists. He hoped to inspire the next generation to move forward. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy as a cultural ambassador and one of the greatest artists of all time”.
After giving his first public performance at the age of 12, Hussain teamed up with John McLaughlin to form the group Shakti, working with George Harrison, Mickey Hart, Bill Laswell, Bela Fleck and many others. He has also acted in and composed films including Dev Patel’s latest Monkey Man, appeared in Merchant-Ivory’s Heat and Dust and Sai Paranjpaye’s Saaz (for which he also composed the music), provided music for Aparna Sen’s Mr and Mrs Iyer and Sona Jain. Indeed. His tabla tracks were part of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and Bernardo Bertolucci’s Little Buddha. Across a generation, his tabla playing was also part of an iconic ad for a tea brand where he was seen playing the instrument with the majestic Taj Mahal as the backdrop.
As the curly-haired maestro sipped tea, called Brooke Bond Taj Mahal, the world said to him, “Arre huzoor wah Taj boliye”.
Watch Ustad Zakir Hussain’s ‘Wah Taj’ ad:
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Zakir Hussain talked about his connection with ‘Wah Taj’, “I can’t dip my fingers in tea and play the tabla. [laughs]. But I know people always remember me as ‘Wah Taj!’ Indian classical music has always been on the move when you include Bollywood and pop in the set. So you need something to help you get the message across. Put it out there for people to come and see. That’s the tea Taj made for me. It helped me get the music out there and if they see me for thirty seconds then they see me when I’m in town. There is curiosity and I turn it into music.” He said that when he was drinking tea in India, he was not addicted to drugs at all. “I’m immersed in music and I added that I drank tea because I can’t sit still listening to music. But tea has a good music since I was a child. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke. No alcohol, no cigarettes, no paan, nothing,” he said.
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