Zakir Hussain says music inspires him to wake up and say “hello” every day.

MUMBAI: “Music has brought me to the world and the world to me,” says Ustad Zakir Hussain.

The maestro credits his “mate” tabla for motivating him to wake up and say hello to the world every morning.

Son of legendary musician Alla Rakha, Hussain said his father believed every instrument has a spirit, and as a student of music it was important to have an intimate bond with it.

“My father always said that each instrument has a spirit and if you are a student, half the battle is to get that spirit to accept you as a mate, as a friend. Once that happens, the instrument reveals how you should react to it, touch it and express yourself through it,” Hussain told PTI in an interview.

After years of being together, the maestro believes he cannot imagine his existence without tabla.

“Music is my world. It is the garb I wear. Tabla is a mate, it is a brother, a friend, it’s the bed I sleep in. I am at a point where my relationship with the spirit of my tabla is special. I find myself at a place where I cannot imagine that I can exist without it. It motivates me to get up in the morning and say, ‘hello’,” he added.

Hussain started as a child prodigy, performing his first concert at the age of seven, and began touring at 12. After completing his education in Mumbai, he moved to the US in 1970.

It marked the beginning of his international career that saw him perform with the likes of George Harrison, John Handy, Van Morrison and pop group Earth, Wind & Fire. Music and arts have had a profound impact on his life, and even his family.

The renowned artiste said music “designs the way he lives, his character, his likes and dislikes”.

“My wife (Antonia Minnecola) is a dancer, my one daughter is a filmmaker, and my other daughter is a ballet teacher, so everything is art and music.”

“It is such an agreeable place to be where we all are in a world where we think, act, behave and go forward with the same ideas, thoughts and on the same path. Music has given me everything that I am. Music has brought me to the world, it has brought the world to me. I cannot imagine being separate from music. It is the outfit I wear.”

Hussain, 72, is currently looking forward to performing with acclaimed sitarist Niladri Kumar and flute player Rakesh Chaurasia on September 23 and 24 in the city for The Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) Autumn 2023 season.

The event, which commences from September 10, will showcase the amalgamation of Indian classical music with Western orchestral traditions.

The high point of this season is the triple concerto for sitar, bansuri and tabla, composed by Hussain.

Artistes don’t find it difficult to keep themselves motivated, believes the Padma Vibhushan awardee.

The reason, he said, is the newness that comes from collaborating with artistes from across the world.

“If as a tabla player, I was playing with the same sitar player for 25 years, I would wither after a certain time. I would not expand as much. If I have no comparison, no way to be able to dial in other information, I would not grow. Therefore, I would die as an artiste.”

Drawing parallels with cricket, Hussain said Indian classical music is in a “happy place” and has a bright future with many young musicians trying to make a mark for themselves.