BENGALURU: “Drop the sir, call me Zakir”, the friendly effervescence in his voice is as vibrant as his music. Ten minutes into our conversation and it was a delight to notice the ease with which he pronounced words like ‘Thaniyavardhanam’ (solo performance of a percussionist) and names of South Indian musicians like Palghat Mani Iyer and ML Vasanthakumari. “Well, what do you expect? I’ve been playing with these legends from the south since 1966! I’m more than familiar with all of them.”
Fifty years and more of being a professional musician who is lauded the world over, reflects the pure passion Zakir has for his tabla. He won his first Grammy in 1992 for Planet Drum and was the youngest musician to be awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2002. A child-prodigy who began playing with his father Ustad Allah Rakha Khan since he was a four-year-old, Zakir is a titular force in popularising fusion music in India and hindustani classical music abroad.
“The audience today is quite evolved and appreciative of our creativity,” says the music-composer of the award-winning Indo-French Malayalam film, Vaanaprastham (1999). “I’d love to create music for a feature film but I’m a travelling musician. If a filmmaker can work around that with me, I’m open”, says Zakir. A peek into the mind of this genius ‘pride of percussion’ reveals a child-like enthusiasm and simplicity which embraces our Q&A as well.