51�Թ�

Zakir Hussain, an internationally renowned tabla player and composer who helped integrate Indian classical sound into Western music, has died at age 73.

Lauded as “the greatest tabla player of his generation,” the statement said, Hussain throughout his decades-long career aimed to blend musical genres and came to be regarded as “a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement.”

Born March 9, 1951, in Mumbai, Hussain gleaned his tabla drumming skills from his father, Allarakha Khan, who served as sitar master Ravi Shankar’s accompanist during the peak of Shankar’s career, according to the Allarakha Foundation.

Zakir Hussain, the legendary tabla virtuoso and global ambassador of Indian classical music who has died aged 73, leaves behind a timeless rhythmic legacy that will inspire generations.

Born on 9 March, 1951, in Mahim, Mumbai, he was the eldest son of Ustad Allarakha, one of history's most iconic players of the tabla - a pair of traditional Indian hand played drums.