Zakir Hussain is the jack of all trades and a master of all of them too. He is an Indian tabla virtuoso, composer, percussionist, music producer, film actor and so much more. Phew! How can someone be so talented in one lifetime? Hussain Sahab has proved it's doable if you intend it. A child prodigy, Hussain learned Pakhawaj from his illustrious father Ustad Allah Rakha Khan at the age of three. Hence, it isn't surprising that his first concert was at the age of seven.

We wouldn't be lying if we say we found Tabla to be a very interesting musical instrument after watching Hussain play it. If that's not all of it. He was and still is a really good looker. We still remember one of the many national integration songs on Doordarshan where Hussain can be seen playing the tabla. The headbang in slow-mo with that dense lop of hair...what an amazing view. Pardon us for our indiscretion but Zakir Hussain is a really good looking gent. No one can deny that.

Talking about his life, here are five lesser-known facts about him that you must know.

#The Unlucky Him

As per Wikipedia, Hussain was called an unlucky child because when he was born, his father was extremely ill. But he proved everyone wrong.

#The rhythm band

He was part of a rhythm band called Planet Drum with Mickey Hart, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo. The first album had received Grammys in 1992 as the Best World Music album. When they reunited after 15 years, they won another Grammy Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2009. A winning combo!

#Cinema

Hussain worked in 3-4 films which include Heat and Dust, Custody, The Mystic Masseur (2001) and Francis Coppola in Apocalypse Now (1979).

#Jazz desi style

Hussain introduced Jazz fusion and world music styles to Hindustani music and forever changed the way music was viewed and learned.

#America's greatest honour

In 1999, he received the United States National Endowment for the Arts's National Heritage Fellowship. It is the highest honour given to musicians and artists in the USA.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2020 08:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).