Padma Vibhushan Zakir Hussain: Padma, Ratna Awards and state recognition for artistes is totally Indian

(from left) Rakesh Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain, Niladri Kumar.

Tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain’s Triple Concerto, Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, of sitar, bansuri and tabla, commissioned by the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), will have its world premiere next weekend (September 23-24). With conductor Alpesh Chauhan, Zakir Hussain on table, Niladri Kumar on sitar and Rakesh Chaurasia on bansuri, the show will be held at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai. Excerpts from an interview with the tabla maestro…

NCPA’s SOI Autumn 2023 Season will culminate with the world premiere of your Triple Concerto. Tell us about it.

I am nervous first of all and I am hoping that whoever is hearing it will accept our simple offering and give us their blessings and see the attempt in it and the hard work that is done to make it happen, and appreciate it. I am not saying that this is THE work of the year, because it isn’t. But I am hoping that this is another step towards trying to be better. This premiere will also call for some fixing, some chiseling and making it a little bit tighter. It is a humble offering and I hope that Rakesh (Chaurasia) and Niladri (Kumar) will get the attention they deserve and their artistry, as not only Indian musicians, but musicians with universal appeal, will be noticed and admired. What is interesting is that they are two incredible musicians who are at the pinnacle of improvising music spontaneously.

Working with the raga system, working Indian instruments with the Symphony Orchestra is not new for you. Any memories that have stayed with you?

When Ravi Shankar Ji wrote his first sitar concerto, I was there with him, keeping the theka while he was writing it down. We were at his place on Highland Avenue in Los Angeles. And the orchestrator was sitting with him. And they’d ask, ‘Ok Raavie, what if I added a C-minor and chord here?' And Ravi Shankar ji would say, ‘No, no, we can’t do that because that is not there in the Raaga.' He was concerned about stepping out of the Lakshmanrekha of the raaga. He wanted to ensure that the integrity of the raaga is maintained. Therefore, that first concerto is basically the orchestra playing the raaga. In the second concerto he loosened up a little bit and had harmonic elements come into play.

But having Niladri bhai and Rakesh bhai work with some of the great music composers of Bollywood, they have worked with orchestras, harmonies, and counterpoints. To have that familiarity when they sit down with the orchestra helps me to write a piece which allows me the freedom in my head that these young men will not call me to say that this is not there in the raaga. So we were able to use a raaga like Bhimpalasi, or Jhinjhoti, and allowing other elements to appear harmonically.

Is there a story behind the composition?

Yes, and it begins with two instruments, the sitar and the bansuri. The idea is that there are these two spirits or beings who grew up together, became great friends and are happy with each other. They do everything together, but then they get to a certain age and the villagers’ step in and disrupt their lives by telling them they can’t be together all the time. And the two principal characters don’t understand why their friendship isn’t supposed to happen. Then, there is their pushback against the village elders and finally there is the confrontation with them where they both stand up for themselves. Then there is the village elder (the tabla), who intervenes and tries to make things right. Finally, it all comes to fruition in a more equitable and happy way. That, in a nutshell, is the story that the music tells in the concert.

You were conferred with The Padma Vibhushan this year. We heard it was delivered at your doorstep.

I was so humbled and blessed that our government conferred on me the Padma Vibhushan award which I received later (July) because I couldn’t be present at the ceremonial presentation of the awards as I was on tour. But they were kind enough to come to my home, which was a very special thing for me. I can’t thank them enough; our government and our state government which presented the award to me here. It was a kind of blessings and aashrivaad and confidence that they show in the ability of an artiste in India. Our country is a very unique place because the recognition that is bestowed on the artiste, not just by the audience but also by the state and the Central government. The Padma, Ratna Awards, Sangeet Natak Academy awards - all these recognitions and that which comes with it - is something totally Indian. This isn’t there anywhere else in the world. I hope that I will be able to live up to the confidence that they have shown in my ability, and I really want to offer my deepest gratitude.

Zakir Hussain (right) with Shakti band members. (Photo via X / John McLaughlin)

You have been playing with Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia and now with his nephew Rakesh Chaurasia – how has it been?

I have learnt so much from playing with Rakesh Ji. I had thought that I had learnt everything about playing with a basuni wadak while playing with his uncle for 30 years. But no, there is more to learn because there is a different fresh outlook that Rakesh has about music. So, when I throw what I know about music at him, he looks at me and replies back, and I suddenly realize that I have to word the answer a little differently. It is the same when playing with Niladri Kumar or having played with great Ustad Sultan Khan and his son Sabir. Artistes are not the same. When I first began to play on stage with Pandit Ravi Shankar Ji, I sat on the stage and felt, I got this. I was 15 years old. I had no idea of the enormity of the situation. I thought I know everything that my father does with him, I have learnt all that. Then when Pandit Ravi Shankar Ji started to play, the occasion to play what I had planned never arrived. I was like, ‘But I thought you were going to play this and I would play this.’ But then, he was now taking a young kid and was going to walk him through the system, so he changed the way we were going to walk. He wasn’t going to play with me like he played with my father. It was a learning experience for me. I thank God that such opportunities are presented to our fraternity and allows us to learn. My father used to say that 'Son, just be a good student, don’t try to be a master and you will get by just fine.' And that is so true.