Taking forward the Legacy

Taking forward the LegacyThe man whose Tabla does all the talking on stage, takes a rare break for a candid talk in an exclusive, two-part interview for the Indian Music Industry [IMI]. Fazal Qureshi, master of his chosen art, son of the legendary Ustad Allah Rakha, younger brother of the internationally famous icon, Zakir Husain, speaks about his early days, his introduction to the Tabla, his loves, his fears, his dreams, his passion, his achievements, his vision, from  this soft-spoken, unassuming, down-to-earth and very talented artiste.

Q: Tell us about your early days?

A: Well, I was born in Mumbai in Mahim and to a went school called K.J.Khilanai, living there was an experience, later in ‘70s shifted to Naepeasean Road and for last thirty – seven years before I shifted to Bandra. The life at Naepeasean Road was different; we had a sea facing house up on the hill. The school was called Hill Grange School. The continuous stream of big musicians, younger musicians and everyone coming to meet my father Ustad Allah Rakha as a result the door never use to shut and as soon as you woke up you hear Tablas. 

When my father’s film was shot there is a clip where I and Taufiq are playing something together. We both were very young, we hadn’t even touched tabla. They wanted someone from the family as Zakhir Bhai was in America that time. So the seeds were already there but I didn’t take sort of tabla till I was 15 years old which is actually sort of late.

Q: How was your educational life? 

A: The memory is so hazy now. I was an average student but my inclination was more into sports. I used to be playing and running so fast that I used to play with boys older than me 3 or 4 years older. I was famous in my school for being captain of the cricket team or being forward in football. The first time my name came in the newspapers as I scored a goal for my school against St.Xavier’s or some school. Later I went to government Law College in Churchgate where I gave first year exam but unfortunately couldn’t give second year exam as was so busy performing I completed my B.A from Xavier’s. 

Q: Being a son of Ustad Allah Rakha Khan, did you train under him?

A: Yes, it was a very difficult proposition as that Ustad Allah Rakha Khan was so busy and in 70s and travelled nine months a year. I learnt from him but it wasn’t more from him than listening to his records and how you approach the music is also an important part of the learning. Because the teacher will teach you something but to take it forward it’s your responsibility. So when I am teaching at my father’s institute, I usually do that – look I am going to teach you that but after that it’s your responsibility to go home and understand exactly how it is decided sort of in the rhythm style, how the tabla syllables are put together and how it is composed, so you need to analyze and there is sort of mental work required besides the physical practice. 

Q: What you need to be a good table player?

A: Imagination is of course there but about 95% of the Indian classical music is improvised and what is fixed is basically the rhythm saga or the ragas with certain movement and rest of what you do is your own creativity and spontaneity. The reason our music became so popular in the West is because on stage we perform without any written music, spontaneously improvising. For them classical music is written, composed by someone else and followed by someone else, this approach makes our music different and hence survived from 5,000 years.

Whatever my father taught us, Zakhir Bhai took it forward with his point of view and so I am also doing it and taking it forward. Thinking is very important aspect apart from physical raga and mental riyaz is also very important. 

Q: What did it take to carve a niche for you?

A: It’s not been a cakewalk. When I started playing, I used to think like any other young artist who is trying to make a mark, but from the audience point of view as son and brother of famous personalities I should already play fantastically which I found a little difficult to do all the time.

There was always comparison between Zakhirbhai and me, Bhai was 10 years older and he is a child prodigy and he was playing tabla when I hadn’t thought of playing but I took it in a positive way and decided to practice more and improve. 

As I went as Fazal Quereshi the fact was Ustad Allah Rakha Khan and Zakhir Husain are different surname and people didn’t used to recognize my name. I realized the format was working and hoped that people listen & then talk to me then I would tell them whose son I was.

Q: How did Ustad Allah Rakha shape your career and talent?

A: My father had simple outlook towards life. He had no ego and he use to sit quietly, he had very open hearted attitude of letting us decide what we want to do. It is very unusual for any old thinking musician but fortunately we all decided to choose music line and never thought of doing anything else. He was a very impartial person and even I follow that philosophy when I’m teaching in my class in my father’s institute, where I see and I realize if this student needs encouragement, I do it. I won’t be biased.

I admire him for the way he looked at life the way he looked at table his struggle and at the age of 14 he was out of the house and travelled and went to his guru to get the knowledge he thought he wanted to play table. My father was obsessed with table and there was no one from his family who knew table and he was the only person and he just decided that he wants to learn table. He had that struggle in his and I really admire from the thing he went through to come to this level and create a niche in a city like Bombay from where he didn’t belong and made the city as his and we were born and bought up here.

Q: You like to know your performance with Ustad Allah Rakha Khan and your brother with some moments?

A:  I was already performing for a very long time before even I got a chance to play with my father and brother. Around 1979 & 80 I started performing but I didn’t get a chance to play with my father till 1986, it just happened that we were in America and suddenly got a call as Zakhir bhai and my father were in LA for concert. For some reason the tabla got lost of Zakhir bhai and my father and Sultan Khan Sahib was playing Sarod. Zakhir bhai called me up and said just take the next flight and come to San Francisco with the set of Tabla’s. I took the flight and arrived with the set of tablas and suddenly Zakhir bhai says that now you are playing with us and I said I wasn’t prepared but he said just sit with us and play. That was my first experience to play with them. 

The first concert that we played in London, where we didn’t have an accompaniment as there was nobody to accompany us and suddenly this great singer Ashit Desai, who is actually a very good Bhajan Singer and he himself is a tabla player said he would play the harmonium and will give the lehra. It was so interesting for us that first time we were playing with the three different notes of tabla. My father had what we call as Tonic Tabla, Zakhir Bhai had 5th Tabla and I had 3rd Tabla. And this Ashit Desai created the lehra that if I started playing then he would, with my note and If Zakhir bhai started then he would start with his note. That was so interesting experience and playing with my father and bhai and the lehra was amazing. 

Second was last concert my father played, I was there on the stage in Ahemdabad. For me when I am playing well, he doesn’t use any words, he just smiles. The smile says that I have played well. For me to the smile was important otherwise he would have little frown on his face.

Q: What qualities you have imbibed of your father?

 A: I his looks, You know this year I was travelling abroad and many told me that now- a-days I look like my father when I sit on stage playing tabla and I feel very happy about it that somehow his philosophy is coming out through me.

Q:What do you remember of your father?

A: I always have that picture in mind with that smile on his face. When I was in college all the girls used to come and tell me they want to pull my father’s cheeks you know that big were his cheeks so they used to ask that allow us to come to your place we just want to pull his cheeks. So these are the things which always come in front of me when I think about my father. His smile will like remain with us forever.

Q: Tell us about your Bollywood songs?

A: I am a big film buff, I used to bunk school & I love Indian film music. I love music from the sixties and seventies; my favorite is Madan Mohanji Music Director with S.D. Burman. So I love all their songs, it’s their kind of music which blend I feel of Fusion music. When you look at Bollywood, there is also cellos, Violins, Santoor or Flute, Sitar, Tabla and Drums are all playing together. Hindi film industry is fantastic example of fusion music. All these music directors have used the elements very well like S.D.Burman ji, Roshan sahib, Madan ji, Laxmikant- Pyarelal ji. It’s very inspiring and all the songs are still fresh in our mind, you listen to Madan ji songs they are still fresh from Guide or Jewel thief or any other films you think of. I would like to recall any music from 60s & 70s, as they are still my favorites.

Q: Tell us about your Punjab gharana and the legacy of it in brief?

A: We might just have touch the background of gharana. Gharana means basically the style of playing and their used to be one style for Tabla, the Delhi style. As musicians from Delhi migrated to other parts of India mingled, added some local elements into them and created their own style.  So some musicians went to Punjab and there ‘Pakhawaj’ was used.

 And fusion thing happened that time when the Persian invasion happened, a music existing in India called Dhrupad Dhamal and Persian’s bought their own music, they fused it and used together and called it the ‘Khayal’ style, which is still popular till now. And tabla was created to accompany this style. When we go the Punjab gharana, the tabla playing is basically more combination of Tabla and Pakhawaj. I would say, basically we are from Punjab gharana but we follow what my father taught me or my father’s style. I don’t know what, because the Punjab gharana style is basically based in Pakistan, what they play we have no idea but we know what my father played. What we are following now is my father’s style of playing tabla which is a part of Punjab gharana and his own style of playing and point of view, thinking & philosophy. 

You can call it Ustad Allah Rakha khan gharana or Punjab gharana. Basically we still call it Punjab gharana. So the elements are both of tabla and pakhawaj. The Beneras gharana is similar to Punjab gharana is more pakhawaj than tabla, as their point o of view is very different. Tabla style is in Delhi, Lucknow, and Jharada which are connected to each other. So there are about 4 to 5 different styles of playing tabla gharana as we call it and the Punjab gharana is most famous thanks to my father  and Zakhir bhai of course.