Legendary Tabla Maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain Laid To Rest

Photo: screengrab/DC News

India-West News Desk

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Renowned tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, who passed away at 73 on December 15, was laid to rest on December 19 at Fernwood Cemetery, Mill Valley.

Drummer Anandan Sivamani and other musicians paid a heartfelt musical tribute during the last rites. The Consul General of India in San Francisco, K. Srikar Reddy, draped Zakir Hussain’s mortal remains with the Indian national flag and shared Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s condolence message.

Approximately 300 people, including family, friends, musicians, and members of the Indian diaspora, attended the ceremony.

The cause of death was confirmed as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease. Zakir Hussain had been receiving treatment in a San Francisco hospital’s ICU for heart-related complications over the past two weeks.

Born on March 9, 1951, in Mumbai, Zakir Hussain was the son of tabla legend Ustad Alla Rakha. He demonstrated extraordinary talent from a young age, performing with India’s greatest classical musicians as a teenager.

His illustrious career included collaborations with icons like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan and founding fusion bands such as Shakti with guitarist John McLaughlin and Planet Drum with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. His work on the Planet Drum album earned him a Grammy Award.

Honored with the Padma Shri (1988) and Padma Bhushan (2002), Zakir Hussain also won four Grammy Awards and left an indelible mark on global music. He is survived by his wife, Antonia Minnecola, and daughters, Anisa and Isabella Qureshi.

“He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy cherished by countless music lovers around the globe, with an influence that will resonate for generations to come,” his family said in a statement. (with news agencies input)

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