Ustad Allah Rakha
He was born on April 29, 1919, at Phagwal village of Jammu, 80 kms from
Lahore. Khan was fascinated with the sound of tabla since the age of 12, when he
was staying with his uncle at Gurdaspur.
The determined young lad ran away from house and became a disciple of Mian
Qader Baksh of the Punjab Gharana, who initiated him into the world of music. He
learnt 'Raag Vidya' (melody aspect) from Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan of Patiala
Gharana. His regimen of practice and dedication were the stuff of legend: hours
upon hours of hard, disciplined practice cultivating his skills would eventually
pay off.
He started his musical career as an accompanist in Lahore and then as an AlI
India Radio staffer in Mumbai in 1940. Soon after he composed music for a
couple of Hindi films from 1943-48. The venerable master later achieved
world reknown as Pandit Ravi Shankar's chief accompanist during his apex in the
1960s, delighting audiences in the West with his percussive wizardry, both as an
uncanny accompanist with flawless timing and sensitivity as well as a soloist
where he was a master of improvisation, a prolific composer and an electric
showman.
The Ustad popularized the art of tabla playing all over the globe, elevating
the status and respect of his instrument. Abbaji (as he was affectionately
known) also bridged the gap between Carnatic music and Hindustani music by
performing with both reknowned Carnatic musicians as well as other Hindustani
stalwarts.
The country's leading tabla exponent of the Punjab Gharana, who raised the
tabla to the status of a solo instrument, died in Mumbai in 2000 after a
heart attack. He was 81 years old. He was in a state of shock following the
death of his younger daughter, Razia, who passed away just the day
before of a heart attack. The grief-stricken Ustad passed away at 3:30 am
later that same night at his 'Simla House' residence at Napean Sea Road, family
sources said.
In a message of condolence to Mr Khan's family, Indian
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said he was a colossus of Indian
classical music. "The country has lost an accomplished maestro whose
mastery over the tabla created waves all over the world," Mr Vajpayee said.
President K R Narayanan said with Mr Khan's demise "an uncommon pulsation has
been stilled. His wrists, palms and fingers produced from the tabla a percussion
of magical quality which maintained the tenor and tempo of India's uniquely
assimilative musical culture."
He once said in an interview that when he played outside India, his aim was
to teach the Western world about the beauty of Indian music. When asked to say a
few words at his 80th birthday celebrations last year, he played the tabla
instead. "This is the language I know," he told the audience. His wife is Bavi Bengum, his three famous sons are Zakir Hussain, Fazal Qureshi and Taufiq
Qureshi and his daughter is Khurshida Qureshi.
