'Zakir Bhai Loved Cricket'

'Zakir bhai, Bela, Edgar and I were supposed to bring the As We Speak global concert series to India in January-February 2025.'
'It would have been our first tour of India after our Grammy win and we were so looking forward to it.'
'But now, without him, we are all devastated.'

Earlier this year, we spoke to flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia's nephew and protege, who had just won two Grammys -- Best Contemporary Instrumental Album with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Edgar Mayer and Bela Fleck for As We Speak, and for Pashto which was adjudged Best Global Music Performance. He was understandably delighted.

"Receiving the Grammy alone, for an album you had composed, is one thing, but standing on the same stage and receiving it with Ustad Zakir Hussain and Edgar Mayer, who have won five awards each, made it really special. I will always cherish the fact that I received the first big award of my life, actually two, in the company of legends for an incredible collaboration," he had asserted (Rediff.com, February 13, 2022).

Ten months later, we connected with a more subdued Rakesh Chaurasia, grieving the loss of his mentor. Ustad Zakir Hussain, 73, passed away on December 16 in San Francisco. In his last social media post, the tabla maestro had shared a picture of trees turning autumnal gold with the caption, 'Just sharing a wonder moment'.

Rakesh Chaurasia shares his wonder moments with his Zakir bhai and tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor, Roshmila Bhattacharya, "What made him special was that he wasn't just focussed on the tabla, when he played with musicians like us, who have trained in different instruments, he collaborated with us 100 per cent, thinking of ways on how we could make our music more beautiful."

Part 1 of the must read two part interview

Ustad Zakir Hussian's untimely demise, so close after the Grammy win, has come as a huge shock. People across the world are devastated.

Yes, and the reason for this is that he was among those rare artistes who are famous not just in India, but even more so abroad.

Zakir bhai had played with several legendary Indian musicians like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Babuji (flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia).

He also collaborated with Western greats like Yo-Yo Ma, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, George Harrison and John McLaughlin among many others.

Wherever he played, be it Australia, New Zealand, US, Europe or India, everyone embraced him as one of their own.

His music was a gift from God and buzurgon ka ashirwad (the blessings of elders).

With his body language and positive aura, the way he played, spoke and joked, he was able to attract even those who were not musically inclined with the result that his audience grew with each passing year.

When he performed, those who enjoyed classical music were entranced, but even those who didn't understand it were hooked.

His demise is a great loss for music.

Yes, he was called the 'God of Tabla'...

(Interrupts) I would say, he was the 'God of Music'.

Yes, where the tabla is concerned, even alphabetically, it's 'A' for Alla Rakha, his father, and Z for Zakir Hussain.

But what made him special was that he wasn't just focussed on the tabla, when he played with musicians like us, who have trained in different instruments, he collaborated with us 100 per cent, thinking of ways on how we could make our music more beautiful.

He always said, "It's not just about you and me, it's about us."

When people remember the evening, they should not remember any one in particular, but all of us.

Music ke bhandaar the woh (He was the treasure trove of music), if I couldn't recall a particular bandish of Babuji's, I only had to ask Zakir bhai and he would not only remember it, but tell me how Kishore Amonkarji had sung it.

He had the memory of an elephant.

Really?

Yes, he could meet you after 10 years and would still call you by your name.

He loved watching old Hindi films, he would say raat ke samay (night time) is perfect for enjoying black-and-white classics.

In the morning, he would sing songs from these movies.

Did he have any other interests apart from music?

He enjoyed reading and read a lot on the plane.

And he loved cricket.

(Chuckling) When there was a match, he would be up all night watching it on his laptop with Kishori Amonkarji singing on the side.

His passing away so soon is a huge personal loss because thanks to Zakir bhai I won two Grammy awards this year.

I happened to be with him then, touring the US, and he told Bela (American banjo player Bela Fleck) and Edgar (American bassist and composer Edgar Meyers) with whom he had a rehearsal scheduled, "Let's try this guy."

They were not so sure if the flute would gel with their kind of music, but he picked me up from my hotel and our first trial session was at his home in San Francisco.

We jammed together for hours and fortunately, they liked the sound of the flute and the way I played it, they thought we could do something good together.

That's how I came on board when As We Speak was conceived.

The album was recorded live, nominated for and won the Grammy in the same year.

What was your reaction to your first Grammy nomination?

I was understandably thrilled, Zakir bhai was the first one to give Edgar, Bela and me the news.

We were touring in the US then, travelling to different cities in a luxury bus.

When you are doing 20 concerts in 22 days, you prefer having your own transport to taking a flight because sometimes, your instruments don't arrive on time at the airport and then you are stuck.

We were in Texas when the nominations were announced in California and because of the time difference, we were sleeping.

But it was daytime in India and the news spread like wildfire.

At around 6 am, when we were having coffee on the bus, Zakir bhai admitted he hadn't got much sleep with all the congratulatory calls and text messages coming in from family, friends and fans.

(Laughing) Even my phone was pinging like crazy when I switched it on.

And what was his reaction to the Grammy win?

He was thrilled, particularly for me, since this was my first Grammy win, and a double whammy at that.

He had once asked me if I had been honoured with a prestigious award in India, like the Padma Shri.

I had shaken my head, saying regretfully, "Not yet."

After the Grammy win, he told me, beaming, "You have won the highest music award in the world, happy now? You have to give us a party."

After the ceremony was over, the four of us, along with our manager, went to a restaurant for a candlelit dinner.

Was Zakir Hussain a foodie?

He liked to try out different cuisines.

Having travelled extensively around the world, he knew a lot about the local cuisines of different countries.

But while on tour, he would still ask me to do a quick Google check and pick the best eating places where we could go and try something new and local.

(Chuckles) If it was a disappointing meal, we would run to an Indian restaurant for tried and tested mutton and chicken dishes.

He also liked baigan (brinjal curry) and we would always end with biryani.

And dessert?

(Laughs) He would have a small piece of something sweet, then push the rest of the dessert towards me, saying, "Iss pe aap ka naam likha hai (Your name is written on this)."

You released an album with him earlier in 2022.

Yes, ZaRa, named after both of us.

Za was for Zakir, and Ra was for Rakesh.

He loved the name because, by a happy coincidence, his granddaughter is also called Zara and he shared a great bond with her.

After playing with him for several years across different formats, I had wanted to cut an album with him, to see both of us together, gracing the jacket cover of a CD.

Quietly, I got our engineer to record one of our live concerts and played the recording for him.

He smiled and said with a twinkle, "You play well, I'm okay, okay."

I shared my dream with him then, told him if he liked the recording and didn't have any objections, I wanted to release it as an album.

Zakir bhai agreed immediately, but asked me if he could release it under his label.

What could be bigger than that!

Moment Records was founded by him in 1991, to record and present great moments from performances of Indian classical music and contemporary world music.

All the albums it has released are live recordings, which is why the label is called Moment Records, capturing the moment for posterity.

ZaRa came out on September 25, 2022.

I find it hard to believe that he is no longer with us.

Was he ill?

There was a problem with his lungs, but I never imagined it would become so serious.

He was doing concerts, taking holidays in between...

When was the last time you met him?

We played together at Mumbai's Shanmukhananda Hall, sometime in July-August.

We were to tour the US, then, Zakir bhai, Bela, Edgar and I were supposed to bring the As We Speak global concert series to India in January-February 2025.

It would have been our first tour of India after our Grammy win and we were so looking forward to it, but now, without him, we are all devastated.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com