वाह उस्ताद!

 Vienna, Virginia:

“Wah Ustad,

Arey huzoor, wah Taj boliye!”

A 90's kid will reckon this advertisement with some nostalgia. Fast forward 20 years, and here I am in the lawns of the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, waiting for the world-renowned Tabla virtuoso-Ustad Zakir Hussein. With some embarrassment, I admit that I had never heard him before (except for the famous Taj Mahal advertisement) and thus, I was more a curious George to see what makes this maestro get the audience, accolades, and the international acclaim. What makes him the Padma Bhushan Zakir Hussein?

As the evening lights brightened the arena, a dainty figure walked up the stage and with folded hands voiced, “Namashkaar”. The crowd was magnetized! 

Ustad Zakir Hussein then settled himself and greeted the audience with a ‘Happy Onam’ and a ‘Happy Rakshabandhan’. Just his words filled the air with an amazing aura and what followed, was magic. He set his hands on the Tabla and played a piece in absolute rhythm and unstoppable beat for a non-stop 30 minutes. Entranced by his energy and exuberance, I couldn’t bring myself to believe that he is a septuagenarian!

His musical piece that had the kids and me more engaged was how he showed that the Tabla can play the words you speak and the expressions you emote. Ustad beautifully displayed with an example of first a deer sauntering in the forest and then, how its ears alert it to a hunter coming close, and finally, how it gallops away into the thick forest. Well, I only wish that my words were half as good as his taal to explain.

The second segment that had me enthralled was the jugalbandi with the talented Uzbeki musician who showcased his prowess with a Doira (a kind of drum with jingles attached). And just when the jugalbandi was enlivening with the Doira, the musician pulled up 2 more Doiras, while our Ustad kept the bandish with not just the Tabla, but a small bongo and the back of the Shruti box! As eccentric as it sounds, I must admit I have never witnessed another musical event where musicians extemporize with cascading creativity and all through enjoying it to the fullest without missing a note! The language on the stage then was music and the culture was that of humility. Such was the enigma, such was the energy, that had the audience enraptured!

Wah Ustad! Wah!