Ustad Zakir Hussain, the great tabla player who mesmerized the world with his magical finger-tune on the tabla, died on Sunday at the age of 73. His demise has deeply saddened the art of playing the tabla. Zakir Hussain inherited the art of playing the tabla from his father, the famous tabla player Ustad Allah Rakha Khan. He mesmerized audiences around the world with his mesmerizing performances. His extraordinary skill and artistry made his name resound around the world. Let’s take a look at when Zakir Hussain performed his first concert and what prestigious awards he received during his illustrious career.
Zakir Hussain was honoured with some of the highest civilian awards in India for his unmatched contribution in the field of art. In 1988, he was awarded the Padma Shri. He was later honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and recently, in 2023, he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan.
Ustad Zakir Hussain has been awarded a total of five Grammy Awards for his exceptional musical talent. His first Grammy came in 1992 for Planet Drum, an album co-created and produced by Mickey Hart, which won in the Best World Music Album category. On February 8, 2009, he won another Grammy for the Global Drum Project in the Best Contemporary World Music Album category, collaborating with Mickey Hart, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo.
Most recently, on February 4, 2024, Zakir Hussain received three Grammys at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. The first was for Pashto, created in collaboration with American banjo player Béla Fleck, bassist Edgar Meyer, and Indian flautist Rakesh Chaurasia. He won the second Grammy in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category for As We Speak, an eclectic classical-meets-jazz album also created with Fleck, Meyer, and Chaurasia. His third Grammy was for the album This Moment, a collaboration with the world-fusion band Shakti.
Zakir Hussain was born on March 9, 1951, in the city of dreams, Mumbai. He performed his first concert in the United States at the age of 11, which was the beginning of his journey to establish himself in the art world. In 1973, he released his first album Living in the Material World, and from there, he gained worldwide recognition for his exceptional skills and talent.