Legendary tabla player Ustad Zakir Hussain is all set to perform on stage after five years with Pt. Rakesh Chaurasia on the flute. The duo would be performing for the first time at a concert ‘Melody Rhythm’ at Shilpakala Vedika on February 18th, at 6.30 pm.
Hussain says he’s excited to perform after a long gap and wonders why he even took such a long break. “I thought maybe I played badly in the last concert,” he laughs. He also recalled sharing the stage with his father in the mid-1960s in Hyderabad.
“I spent some time here in Khairatabad in the late 1950s with some family friends. I also shot my first movie here - so history goes way back,” he says, adding that he has been looking forward to being in the beautiful city again.
Speaking about performing with young artists he says that they are very humble, exceptionally good and mature.
“They have a fresh approach to Raag tradition as well as Taal vidya. To play with them and to hear their musical ideas come alive is a learning experience and is also a challenge for me - to update my playing to this fresh, new and innovative way of presenting our ancient art form. I get to reinvent myself and be relevant in the present,” he shares.
Having been conferred the prestigious Padma Vibhushan recently, the musician says, “I was stunned and humbled. My deepest gratitude to my country for this blessing. I also realise that this is not the pinnacle and I still have a long way to go. I understand that by bestowing this immense honour on me, they are telling me that they see potential in me and this is that recognition and a pat on the back for being on the right path and to carry on with renewed vigour.”
Hussain is all praise for the audience in Hyderabad. “This is a city that had legendary artists living here as court musicians and they educated a large number of devoted followers on Indian music. The ripple effect of this is visible even now. There is so much information about our music available right at our fingertips in the form of our smartphones, computers, etc. I like it when fans do their homework before they watch an artist perform, prepared to fully take in the experience,” he says.
Talking about sharing the stage with Rakesh Charuasia, he says, “Rakesh bhai has pedigree, he carries the blessing of his guru/uncle the great Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia. He is also an artist in the same vein - who is challenged to see my music in a new light. He is an exciting musician to play with always something interesting and new happens when I play with him, I can’t wait for it to unfold on stage,” he said.
