Ustad Zakir Hussain : Making magic with rhythm

A file photo of Indian tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain performing at a concert at the Indian Music Experience, India's first interactive music museum in Bengaluru 2019. The tabla's greatest player, whose prolific work as a musician, mentor and educator left an indelible mark on countless rasiks (fans), died in San Francisco on Monday.

Zakir Hussain (right) and his brother Fazal Qureshi pay tribute to their father, Ustad Allarakha, on the eve of Guru Purnima in Mumbai on July 22, 2013. Trained by his father, Hussain, as a two-year-old toddler, would clap the 10-beat cycle and recite the 'bol'. He played his first public concert when he was seven.

Zakir Hussain and Ustad Shujat Khan on sitar during a special concert titled "Homage to Abbaji", a musical extravaganza on the 16th death anniversary of Ustad Allarakha at Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai, on February 3, 2016. 'My father would seek the blessings of the pandit and the maulana in the mornings', recalled Hussain to an audience.

Zakir Hussain (extreme right) performs with Shakti at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 06, 1976. Hussain was part of the famous fusion quartet Shakti, along with John McLaughlin, Vikku Vinayakram, and L Shankar, in the 70s, which redefined fusion music.

The front and back cover of Natural Elements, a fusion album by Shakti released in 1977. Hussain, who studied at St. Michael's School, Mahim moved to San Francisco when he was 20 and taught at Ali Akbar Khan's music college in San Rafael when Shakti happened.

Zakir Hussain performs during a "Living Dream" music concert to honour Martin Luther King Jr's visit to India in New Delhi on February 16, 2009.

Indian Bollywood playback singer Lata Mangeshkar and Zakir Hussain greet each other during the '72nd Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Awards' in Mumbai on late April 24, 2014. In the mid-sixties, Zakir played tabla as a sessions artiste for film composers like Madan Mohan and SD Burman. He would go on to score music for many movies, like Sai Paranjpe's Saaz, Aparna Sen's Mr & Mrs Iyer and many Merchant-Ivory productions.

Tineke Posma (left), Wayne Shorter (right), and Zakir Hussain perform a United Nations Sunset Concert on International Jazz Day at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz on April 30, 2012, in New York City. An indefatigable performer, Hussain jammed with international jazz musicians through the decades, virtually living on an aeroplane at times.

Satyasheel Deshpande, Satish Vyas, Suhas Vyas, Zakir Hussain, Chaitanya Swami and Yashwant Mahale at the book launch of the second edition of Raag Sarita, a compilation of compositions by Indian classical vocalist Pandit CR Vyas, at SM Joshi Hall, Navipeth, on February 9, 2019 in Pune, India.

Ustad Zakir Hussain with his daughter Anisa Qureshi at her wedding reception in Mumbai on December 30, 2010. Hussain leaves behind his wife Antonia Minnecola, a Kathak dancer whom he married in the 1970s and his two daughters.

Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain felicitates jazz legend Louiz Banks with Shankar Mahadevan for completing 75 years in his musical journey at Shanmukhananda Auditorium, on December 8, 2017 in Mumbai, India.

Zakir Hussain poses with students from the Ustad Allarakha Institute of Music Celebrations at the Guru Purnima Concert, focusing on the next generation in Mumbai on July 22, 2013.

Eleven-year-old Puneet Thakkar, who is terminally ill, learns how to play the tabla from Zakir Hussain in Bombay on February 10. Puneet, whose dying wish was to meet Zakir Hussain, met his idol after the Make-a-Wish Foundation organised the meeting.

The famed Shakti, with a new line-up - Zakir Hussain, Ganesh Rajagopalan, John McLaughlin and Selvaganesh Vinayakram  - perform at Eventim Apollo on June 27, 2023 in London, England.

Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer and Rakesh Chaurasia accept the "Global Music Performance" award for the song "Pashto" onstage during the 66th Grammy Awards at Peacock Theater on February 04, 2024, in Los Angeles, California.

Shankar Mahadevan, Zakir Hussain, V. Selvaganesh, and Ganesh Rajagopalan of Shakti, winners of the "Global Music Album" award for "This Moment", pose in the press room at the 66th Grammy Awards at Peacock Theater on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Zakir Husain and his percussion take centre stage at his performance with Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer at the Brown Theatre on October 9, 2009, in Louisville, Kentucky. Hussain's work on the album Planet Drum, featuring percussionists from all over the world, won the 1992 Grammys for Best World Music Album.

Ustad Zakir Hussain poses for photographers after announcing his fundraiser, "Soundscapes" for the NCPA, at the Tata Theatre on January 03, 2006.