The Eternal Pulse: Remembering Zakir Hussain

Musical ideas come from many fronts, be it personal life experiences, one's own imagination and from observing and listening to your Gurus.... Zakirbhai is our Dhruvatāra, the fixed star in the night sky, the Polaris that lights up our path even now. Zakir bhai's impact on musicians the world over has been nothing short of seismic, a sustained chord that has shaped music and its collaborative, improvisational aspect for decades now. Even as a young teenager, when I first heard his work with Shakti, I was struck by the endless musical possibilities he gave us a glimpse of, the worlds that I never knew existed. And showed us how India could have a true global voice without being superficial or derivative. His sheer musical genius, relevance, his ability to transcend genres, and all this shared with a generosity and kind humanity that left no one untouched ...this is why we will celebrate this noble soul for generations to come. At this Tribute to Ustaad Zakir Hussain”, Ranjit Barot is honoured to present my homage to his continuing, vital presence in our lives. He has brought together a diverse artist line-up of young musicians and the performance attempts to transcend geographical boundaries, celebrate the sheer joy and true freedom inherent in all music, and especially, drumming.