NEW DELHI: Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain has been admitted to the ICU of a San Francisco hospital with heart-related problems, his family and friends said on Sunday.The 73-year-old US-based musician, who has taken the tabla to the global stage, had been having blood pressure issues, said Hussain’s manager Nirmala Bachani.
Amid reports claiming that Hussain had died, his sister Khursheed told PTI that her brother is “very very critical” but is “very much breathing at the moment”.
“My brother is deeply ill at this time. We are asking all his fans around India and around the world to pray for him, to pray for his health. But as India’s greatest ever exports, do not finish him off just yet,” she said.
“I just want to request all the media not to follow wrong information about Zakir’s passing. He is very much breathing at the moment. He is very very critical, but he’s still with us. He has not yet gone. So, I will request (the media) not to spread this rumour by writing or saying that he has passed away. I feel so bad watching all this information on Facebook which is very wrong,” she added.
Hussain’s publicist also confirmed to PTI that the percussionist is being treated at the San Francisco hospital and “has not passed”.
Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced Hussain’s death on its page on X, but later deleted the post.
Hussain’s friend and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia told PTI, “He is unwell and admitted in the ICU right now. We all are worried about the situation.”
The eldest son of legendary tabla player Allah Rakha, Hussain has followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming a marquee name in India and across the world. Hussain has received five Grammy Awards in his career, including three at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year.
In his career spanning six decades, the musician has worked with several renowned international and Indian artistes, but it was his 1973 musical project with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar, and percussionist TH ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram that brought together Indian classical and elements of jazz in a fusion hitherto unknown.
As concern mounted over Hussain’s health, senior broadcast journalist Pervaiz Alam also took to X to share the news, citing the musician’s brother-in-law Ayub Aulia.
“Ustad Zakir Hussain, Tabla player, percussionist, composer, former actor and the son of legendary Tabla player, Ustad Allah Rakha is not well. He’s being treated for serious ailments in a San Francisco hospital, USA, informed his brother in law, Ayub Aulia in a phone call with me. Aulia sahab, based in London, has requested Zakir’s followers to pray for his speedy recovery,” he wrote in a post.
The percussionist, one of India’s most celebrated classical musicians, received the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023.
